China’s consumer prices decline in October
China’s consumer prices fell in October as the world’s second-largest economy struggled with an uneven post-Covid recovery. Data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics showed the consumer price index slipped 0.2% year-on-year, more than the 0.1% decline expected by economists polled by Reuters. This comes after China’s CPI was unexpectedly flat in September, highlighting the need for further policy support. Producer prices declined 2.6%, slightly smaller than an expected decline of 2.7% and marking the 13th straight month of declines. Read the full story here.
Country Garden shares plunge 6% in volatile trading
Hong Kong listed shares of one of China’s biggest property developers Country Garden plunged over 6% in volatile trading. On Wednesday, Reuters reported China’s State Council instructed the local government of Guangdong province to help arrange a rescue of Country Garden by Ping An Insurance Group. Ping An denied the report in a statement later Wednesday, saying “the Reuters story is untrue, and that it has not received such requests from any relevant government departments/agencies.” Hong Kong shares of Ping An fell 1.43%, while the broader Hang Seng index dropped 0.32%. China’s CSI 300 was flat.
CNBC Pro: Want 8% yield? Buy ‘fallen angels’ in the U.S. bond market, BNP Paribas says
The bond bear market is the worst in more than 200 years, according to BNP Paribas’ global chief investment officer. But, he said, one corner of the bond market is an opportunity for investors: U.S. “fallen angels” in the high-yield credit segment. CNBC Pro takes a look at some of the top-rated funds and exchange-traded funds, according to Morningstar. Subscribers can read more here.
CNBC Pro: ‘Golden opportunity’: Morgan Stanley says it’s a good time to buy gold stocks — and names its top global picks
Now is a good time to buy gold stocks, according to Morgan Stanley. Tensions in the Middle East, brought on by the Israel-Hamas war, had triggered a gold “safe-haven” rally as investments in the precious metal picked up. The rally has since fizzled and gold spot prices have moved up some 0.05% in the year to date. Notably, however, gold stocks underperformed gold prices by about 20% in the last three months, the investment bank’s analysts said, naming several stocks to play the “golden opportunity.” CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
Large-cap active fund managers outperformed in October, Bank of America says
Stocks suffered in October, but large-cap active funds managed to deliver a strong performance, according to Bank of America’s Savita Subramanian. Last month, 68% of large cap active managers beat their benchmark, the firm’s head of U.S. equity and quantitative strategy said in a recent report. The average fund beat its benchmark by 34 basis points, she said. To put things into perspective, the S&P 500 dropped 2.2% in October and the Russell 1000 shed 2.5%, capping a three-month stretch of losses for both indexes as bond yields popped and stocks swooned. Funds’ focus on large cap names helped them manage last month. “Cracks started to form within the Magnificent 7, but the largest quintile of the Russell 1000 outperformed the smallest quintile by 5 [percentage points] (-1.7% vs. -6.7%),” Subramanian said.
Nasdaq Composite on track to end week up more than 1%
With Wednesday’s session finished, the trading week is more than halfway done. All three of the major indexes are on track for winning weeks, but some have far more narrow gains than others. Here’s where the three major indexes stand on the week:
Stocks making the biggest moves after hours
These are some of the stocks making the biggest moves in extended trading on Wednesday: Disney — Shares climbed more than 3% after the media giant exceeded expectations of analysts polled by LSEG for profit in the fiscal fourth quarter. Disney+ subscriber numbers also came in strong. Arm — Shares dropped around 7% as investors focused in on weak guidance from the semiconductor company. Lyft — The rideshare platform slipped nearly 2% after reporting worse-than-anticipated bookings and offering weak current-quarter guidance on the measure. See the full list here.
Stock futures are lower
Stock futures inched down Wednesday night shortly after 6 p.m. ET. Futures tied to the Dow lost 0.1%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively.