- Asian Stocks Rise as Traders Await Fed Decision: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — Most Asian stocks rose before a Federal Reserve policy decision, with traders still split on the
size of an anticipated interest-rate cut. Japanese shares led regional gains as the yen’s slide on Tuesday
boosted the outlook for the nation’s exporters. The dollar bounced in New York following stronger-than-
expected retail-sales data. - S&P 500 closes little changed Tuesday after notching all-time high ahead of key Fed decision
The S&P 500 ended Tuesday near the flatline after hitting a record high as the market awaited the Federal
Reserve’s key interest rate cut decision. The broad market index closed higher by 0.03% at 5,634.58, after
earlier touching an all-time high of 5,670.81. The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched down 15.9 points, or
0.04%, to close at 41,606.18. The 30-stock index also hit a fresh record during the session. The Nasdaq
Composite advanced 0.2% and ended at 17,628.06. - Oil prices steady, with investors focusing on Fed decision
Oil prices steadied on Wednesday, after rising in the previous two sessions, as investors await the U.S.
Federal Reserve’s anticipated interest rate cut, with the potential for more violence in the Middle East
supporting the market. Brent crude futures for November dropped 3 cents to $73.67 a barrel at 0053
GMT. U.S. crude futures for October slid 11 cents, or 0.2%, to $71.08 a barrel. Both contracts gained by about
$1 a barrel on Tuesday on lingering supply disruptions in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil producer, after
Hurricane Francine and as traders bet that demand may increase following what would be the Fed’s first
interest rate cuts in four years. - Gold retreats as dollar, yields firm ahead of Fed verdict
Gold eased on Tuesday after climbing to an all-time high in the previous session as dollar and Treasury yields
firmed, while traders positioned themselves for a potential U.S. interest rate cut decision by the Federal
Reserve this week. Spot gold fell 0.5% to $2,569.43 per ounce after scaling an all-time high of $2,589.59 on
Monday. U.S. gold futures settled 0.6% lower at $2,592.40. The spotlight in the financial realm is on the Fed’s
two-day policy meeting that concludes on Wednesday. Markets are now pricing in a 63% chance of a 50-
basis-point cut versus 34% a week ago, according to the CME FedWatch tool. - Fed Cut to Serve as Starting Gun for Central Banks Across Asia
(Bloomberg) — After more than two years of currency pain, Asia’s central banks are in for some relief as the
Federal Reserve is set to cut interest rates by a quarter-point Wednesday. The path for the region’s own
monetary policy, though, will be bumpy from here. Lower rates in the US frees up space for officials in
Jakarta to Seoul and Mumbai to move lower too. - Nippon Steel to Get Extension, Pushing Deal Review Past Vote
(Bloomberg) — A US security panel has granted Nippon Steel Corp. permission to refile its plans to purchase
United States Steel Corp., for $14.1 billion, likely pushing a decision on the politically contentious takeover
past the US elections in November, according to people familiar with the matter. - Australia to Focus on Wholesale Rather Than Retail Case for CBDC
(Bloomberg) — The Reserve Bank of Australia said it will focus on the possible use cases for a wholesale
central bank digital currency given the modest likely benefits and potential complications from a retail
variant. A retail CBDC would create non-trivial challenges for financial stability and monetary policy
implementation, Assistant Governor Brad Jones said. - Trump Says He Will Meet With India’s Modi Next Week
(Bloomberg) — Former President Donald Trump said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi plans to meet with
him next week, the latest visit from a foreign leader or official as nations grapple with the possibility of the
Republican returning to power after November’s election. - Bitcoin Pares Jump Driven by Optimism Over Expected Fed Rate Cut
(Bloomberg) — Bitcoin pared a rally that was spurred by expectations of a reduction in borrowing costs by the
Federal Reserve leading to greater demand for speculative assets. The largest digital currency traded near
$60,000 as of 8:50 a.m. in Singapore on Wednesday after climbing as much as 6.4%, the most intraday since
since Aug. 8, to top $61,000 in US hours on Tuesday. - Hezbollah Says Israel Orchestrated Pager Blasts in Lebanon
(Bloomberg) — Iran-backed Hezbollah accused Israel of orchestrating an attack that killed a number of people
and left almost 3,000 wounded across Lebanon, increasing fears of an all-out war. Israel didn’t comment on
Tuesday’s events, which left hundreds of members of the Hezbollah militant group injured. - Ukraine Allies Start to Look at How a Cease-Fire Could Work
(Bloomberg) — Some of Ukraine’s allies are starting to talk about how the fight against Russia’s invasion might
end, raising concerns in several other Western capitals that these efforts could lead to Kyiv being forced into
a premature cease-fire. As part of their discussions of strategy for the next year, officials are more seriously
gaming out how a negotiated end to the conflict and an off-ramp could take shape, according to people
familiar with the matter who asked for anonymity to discuss private deliberations. - UAW to Hold Strike Authorization Votes Against Stellantis
(Bloomberg) — The United Auto Workers will ask members to green light a strike against Stellantis NV,
escalating an already tense standoff with one of the world’s largest car manufacturers. The union will hold
strike authorization votes at several local chapters in the coming days, seeking to pressure the company into
abiding by investment stipulations in the agreement. - Kingfisher shares rise as much as 8.4%, the most in about four years, after the UK home-improvement
retailer lifted the bottom-end of its guidance ranges for annual earnings and cash flow
Analysts note benefits from a one-off gain and cost-cutting efforts, and flag that declines in like-for-like sales
have eased in the current quarter. 2025 YEAR FORECAST: Sees adjusted pretax profit about GBP510 million to
GBP550 million, saw about GBP490 million to GBP550 million, estimate GBP514.8 million (Bloomberg
Consensus); Sees free cash flow about GBP410 million to GBP460 million, saw about GBP350 million to
GBP410 million; Q3 like-for-like sales to date -0.3%; Accelerates pace of current £300m share buyback
program, now expecting to complete it in March 2025. - Hewlett Packard Enterprise climbs as much as 6.8% on Tuesday, its biggest intraday rise since June, as
BofA upgrades to buy from neutral, citing numerous upcoming catalysts for the computer hardware and
storage company
BofA says in note that the shares now look attractive, sets price target at $24. Sees scope for major cost cuts,
driven by new CFO who has proven track record at HP Inc. Also sees boost from cyclical recovery across
networking, servers and storage. Juniper deal set to add revenue and cost synergies. PT implies a 39%
increase from Monday’s close. - Intel shares rise as much as 4.5% on Tuesday after the company landed Amazon.com Inc.’s AWS as a
customer for the company’s manufacturing business
The embattled chipmaker also confirmed that it’s eligible to receive as much as $3 billion in US government
funding to manufacture chips for the military. Intel and AWS will coinvest in a custom semiconductor for AI
computing, what’s known as a fabric chip, in a multiyear, multibillion-dollar framework. ANALYST
COMMENTARY: KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst John Vinh says very encouraged by these awards and credit
INTC management for being proactive regarding the initiatives that it controls, which is namely cost;
However, reiterate sector weight recommendation, as these announcements are mostly focused on reducing
cost and do not address how INTC will be able to return to growth. - Hermes shares rise as much as 1.2% after the luxury fashion house was upgraded to outperform from
neutral at BNP Paribas Exane, which said the company will be stronger than peers for longer. Meanwhile,
Swatch shares fall as much as 0.9% after the watchmaker was cut to underperform
In a backdrop where re-acceleration in the luxury sector is delayed, BNPP Exane analysts see Hermes
continuing to deliver significantly above-average top-line growth for longer. This, the analysts note, is due to
the defensiveness and visibility of Hermes’ business model, based on factors such as the appeal of its leather
goods and diversification into other categories. The rest of the business, which includes more entry-priced
products, should be less resilient, but should not collapse as their desirability has increased over time.
Analysts acknowledge short-term pain in the luxury sector, but does not subscribe to the bear theses relating
to China being ex-growth and another year or more being needed for the rest of the world to digest the post-
Covid supercycle bubble. - Cleveland Cliffs shares rise as much as 2% as the metals company raised prices on hot rolled coil (HRC)
steel by $20/ton to $750/ton
Cleveland Cliffs cited ongoing market developments. This move follows NUE, which held its HRC price steady
at $720/ton earlier this week but gradually increased over recent weeks, Seaport Global analyst Martin
Englert writes. If the market sufficiently tightens and HRC/flat-rolled lead times extend, domestic producers
will introduce more price hikes, providing a better trajectory for companies entering 2025, he adds. Believes
buy-rated steel mills Cleveland Cliffs, CLF, Steel Dynamics, and Nucor Corp can benefit from a recovery in flat-
rolled steel prices. We believe we have seen the bottom of the last mini-cycle and expect that prices still have
some room to rise from the current Platts spot levels of $700/t, with our 4Q24e at $720/t, Morgan Stanley
analyst Carlos De Alba writes. - Nvidia Corp
Nvidia Corp shares fell 1.02%. The technology company has been in advanced talks to buy OctoAI, a Seattle-
based startup that sells software to make artificial intelligence models run more efficiently. The purchase
would add to a string of small AI startup acquisitions by the AI chip heavyweight, which is trying to strengthen
its software and cloud-computing services while U.S. antitrust officials probe its activities. Nvidia has been
buying small AI and cloud startups to make it less expensive and easier for developers to run AI models using
Nvidia chips. - BlackRock Inc
BlackRock Inc shares rose 1.04% as the investment management firm teamed up with Microsoft on one of
the largest efforts to date to bankroll the build-out of data warehouses and energy infrastructure behind the
boom in artificial intelligence. The companies, along with the United Arab Emirates’ MGX investment vehicle,
will seek $30 billion of private equity capital over time for the strategy, which will then leverage the money to
as much as $100 billion in potential investments.
Menu