- Chinese Stocks Tumble as Stimulus Skepticism Keeps Bulls at Bay
Chinese stocks listed onshore headed for their first decline in 11 days as traders grew impatient with the pace
of Beijing’s stimulus measures, with sentiment also hurt by weak holiday-spending data. The benchmark CSI
300 Index slid as much as 7.4%, wiping out the gain of 5.9% it made Tuesday when mainland markets
reopened after the Golden Week holiday. The gauge pared losses after the Ministry of Finance said it would
hold a fiscal policy briefing on Saturday. An index of Chinese stocks listed in Hong Kong swung to a gain after
dropping as much as 3.8% earlier. - S&P 500 jumps nearly 1%, Dow adds 100 points as cooler oil prices lift stocks
Stocks rebounded on Tuesday following a losing session on Wall Street, as oil prices eased and investors
assessed ongoing tensions in the Middle East. The S&P 500 gained 0.97% to settle at 5,751.13, and
the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.45% to finish at 18,182.92. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 126.13
points, or 0.3%, to end at 42,080.37. West Texas Intermediate oil futures dropped 4.6% Tuesday as traders
monitored Israel’s expected retaliation to Iran missile attacks and U.S. efforts to prevent a wider regional
conflict. The move pressured energy stocks, with the S&P sector slumping 2.6%. Marathon
Petroleum and Valero Energy shed 7.7% and 5.3%, respectively. - Oil prices steady after sliding on potential Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire
Oil prices steadied in Asian trading on Wednesday, as traders weighed uncertainty surrounding
developments in the Middle East conflict against continued bearish fundamentals. Brent crude futures rose
11 cents, or 0.14%, to $77.29 a barrel by 02:23 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures rose 3 cents to
$73.60 a barrel. Prices had plunged more than 4% in the previous session on a possible Hezbollah-Israel
ceasefire, but markets remain wary of a potential Israeli attack on Iran’s oil infrastructure. - Gold lacks momentum as investors brace for Fed minutes
Gold prices were subdued on Wednesday as investors strapped in for minutes from the Federal Reserve’s
latest policy meeting for insights into the U.S. central bank’s interest rate trajectory. Spot gold held its ground
at $2,619.75 per ounce by 02:55 GMT, after hitting a two-week low in the previous session. Prices scaled a
record high of $2,685.42 on Sept. 26. U.S. gold futures edged 0.1% higher to $2,638.20. The dollar
index witnessed a sharp rally to a seven-week high last week. A stronger dollar makes bullion less attractive
to other currency holders. - India’s central bank holds rates as expected, shifts stance to neutral
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept its key interest rate unchanged on Wednesday, as widely expected, but
tweaked its policy stance to neutral, opening the door for rate cuts amid early signs of a growth slowdown in
the economy. The Monetary Policy Committee, which consists of three RBI and three external members, kept
the repo rate unchanged at 6.50% for a tenth straight policy meeting. The committee, however, changed its
policy stance to neutral from withdrawal of accommodation. Rates were predicted to be kept on hold by 80%
of the 76 economists polled by Reuters. The MPC last changed rates in February 2023, when the policy rate
was raised to 6.50%. - China’s growth is set to slow next year despite temporary boost from stimulus, World Bank warns
The World Bank estimates that China’s growth rate will drop to 4.3% next year, down from a projected 4.8%
in 2024, in an economic update on Tuesday. While the 2024 figure is up from forecasts in April, the 2025 rate
remained unchanged amid doubts over the long-term impact of Beijing’s recent stimulus measures. - Harris says Iran is America’s greatest adversary, as Mideast war weighs on U.S. priorities
Vice President Kamala Harris said she considers Iran to be America’s greatest adversary, in a new interview
on the CBS show 60 Minutes Overtime. The Democratic presidential nominee’s choice of Iran, rather than
Russia or China, underscores how much the Mideast war has shifted U.S. foreign policy priorities. Global
financial markets fell on fears that Israel could respond to a recent Iranian missile attack by striking Iranian oil
facilities, a move that President Joe Biden discouraged in a press conference Friday. - US Small-Business Optimism Little Changed Ahead of Election
US small-business optimism was little changed in September as firms dialed back capital spending plans,
illustrating historically high uncertainty ahead of the US presidential election. The National Federation of
Independent Business optimism index edged up 0.3 point to 91.5 after declining in August by the most in
more than two years. The group’s uncertainty index rose 11 points to a record high as small-business owners
await the outcome of the November election. - ECB’s Nagel Fears Slower Growth, Faster Inflation If Trump Wins
Europe’s economy could face significantly less growth and more inflation, should Donald Trump win reelection as US president, European Central Bank Governing Council member Joachim Nagel warned.
Victory for Trump could be accompanied by drastic increases in tariffs, an expansionary fiscal policy and
severe restrictions on immigration, the Bundesbank chief said Tuesday. If implemented, this could lead to
noticeable losses in growth in the euro area and Germany. - Boeing withdraws contract offer after talks with union end without a deal
Boeing said it withdrew its contract offer after talks with the machinist union broke down. More than 32,000
Boeing machinists walked off the job on Sept. 13 after overwhelmingly voting down a new contract. The
union said Boeing refused to propose wage increases and other improvements in the latest round of talks. - Couche-Tard Suggested Higher Price of $47 Billion for Seven & I
Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. sent Seven & i Holdings Co. a new potential acquisition price of ¥7 trillion
($47.2 billion), people with knowledge of the matter said, showing that the Canadian company is still seeking
to enter takeover talks after its initial bid was rejected. The indicated offer of $18.19 per share was sent to
Seven & i on Sept. 19, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information isn’t public. The
figure represents a premium of around 20% from the prior offer and the company’s stock price from
yesterday. Shares in Seven & I rose as much as 12% following the news. - DOJ indicates it’s considering Google breakup following monopoly ruling
The Department of Justice late Tuesday indicated that it was considering a possible breakup of Google as an
antitrust remedy. The DOJ said it was considering behavioral and structural remedies that would prevent
Google from using products such as Chrome, Play, and Android to advantage Google search. The judge has
yet to decide on the remedies, and Google will likely appeal, drawing out the process potentially for years. - SpaceX may receive FAA license for next Starship launch in time for Sunday attempt
The Federal Aviation Administration may issue SpaceX its next Starship license in time for a Sunday launch
attempt, CNBC has learned. Despite previously expecting that its license review could take until late
November, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC the FAA’s process has sped up, opening the door for
earlier approval. SpaceX and its CEO Elon Musk have been vocally critical of the FAA in recent weeks, alleging
the company faces difficulties from the current regulatory environment. - Baidu’s US-listed securities tumble as much as 8.5%, the most intraday in about two years, amid a
broader selloff in Chinese ADRs and after the Chinese search engine announced Rong Luo will no longer be
chief financial officer, effective immediately
Rung Luo will become executive vice president in charge of the Baidu Mobile Ecosystem Group (MEG), while
Junjie He was appointed interim CFO, from senior vice president and head of the Baidu Mobile Ecosystem
Group. Chinese ADRs are broadly trading lower in New York after Beijing stopped short of launching more
major stimulus. Citigroup analyst Alicia Yap says she views the rotation involving CFO and MEG leadership as
a bit surprising given the required experience and skillset in budgeting and investor communication. The only
puzzle we have is Mr. He is appointed as interim CFO rather than immediately as CFO, which we wonder if
there might be a searching process or just need some time for Mr. He to transition into CFO. Maintains buy
rating and $144 PT. - Senior shares fall as much as 18%, the most in over four years, after the UK engineering company said it
expects the performance of its Aerospace division to be lower in the second half than the first amid strikes
at Boeing and supply chain challenges at Airbus. Jefferies said the update is clearly disappointing
Senior’s trading update points to significant challenges in its Aerospace business, Jefferies analyst Andy
Douglas (buy) says. While likely impact on consensus forecasts will be meaningful, this is not a structural
issue. Senior’s expectations for the full-year are broadly unchanged, with first-half performance higher than
second half, according to a statement. Aerospace revenue grew 13% year-on-year in the nine-month period. - PepsiCo shares gain as much as 1.5% even after the soft-drink giant tempered its annual outlook for
organic revenue growth, with Wall Street looking past the cut as it had been anticipated. The company
reiterated its full-year profit forecast
THIRD QUARTER RESULTS: Core EPS $2.31 vs. $2.25 y/y, estimate $2.30 (Bloomberg Consensus); Net revenue
$23.32 billion, -0.6% y/y, estimate $23.8 billion; Frito-Lay North America revenue $5.89 billion, -1.1% y/y,
estimate $5.95 billion; Quaker Foods North America revenue $648 million, -13% y/y, estimate $672 million;
PepsiCo Beverages North America revenue $7.18 billion vs. $7.16 billion y/y, estimate $7.28 billion; Europe
revenue $3.95 billion, +6.5% y/y, estimate $3.93 billion; Latin America revenue $2.92 billion, -4.6% y/y,
estimate $3.11 billion; Africa, Middle East & South Asia revenue $1.55 billion, -3.9% y/y, estimate $1.68
billion; Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand & China revenue $1.20 billion, -1.8% y/y, estimate $1.23 billion;
Organic revenue +1.3% vs. +8.8% y/y, estimate +3%; Frito-Lay North America organic revenue -1%, estimate
0%; Quaker Foods North America organic revenue -13%, estimate -10.4%; PepsiCo Beverages N. America
organic revenue % change +1%, estimate +1.86%; Latin America organic revenue +3%, estimate +4.49%;
Europe organic revenue +6%, estimate +7.45%; Asia Pacific, Australia and New Zealand and China Region
organic revenue -1% vs. +9% y/y, estimate +2.92%; Africa, Middle East and South Asia organic revenue +6%,
estimate +11.4%; EPS $2.13 vs. $2.24 y/y, estimate $2.28. - Palo Alto Networks Inc. shares are up 4.8% on Tuesday, with the security software company leading
among S&P 500 gainers after BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on the stock with an outperform rating
Analyst Andrew DeGasperi is also starting coverage on Datadog and Veeva Systems with outperform ratings.
BNP is positive on the three given their strong market share positions, efficient sales models and high rate of
product innovation. AI is seen as a tailwind for cybersecurity. DDOG +2.2%, VEEV +1.8%. Separately, BNP is
starting four companies with neutral ratings, including Zscaler and Dynatrace, which are in the midst of
shifting sales strategies after hiring new leadership, Samsara on valuation, and Crowdstrike on lack of
visibility. - DocuSign shares climb as much as 9.3% on Tuesday, their biggest intraday rise since March 8, after S&P
Dow Jones Indices said that the e-signature company will join the S&P Midcap 400 Index before trading
opens on Oct. 11
DocuSign will replace MDU Resources Group, which in turn will replace Chuy’s Holdings in the S&P SmallCap
600 effective prior to the opening of trading on Oct. 11: S&P Dow Jones Indices. DocuSign shares have gained
5.6% YTD through Monday’s close. Meanwhile, MDU rose 4.5% and Chuy’s shares were largely flat on
Tuesday. - Imperial Brands rises as much as 4.8%, the most since May. The tobacco giant said trading has been inline with expectations as it upped its dividend and switched to quarterly payouts, while lifting its buyback
plan for FY25. Analysts are reassured by the update and say investors are welcoming higher shareholder
returns
Plans a further £1.25 billion share buyback for 2025, up from £1.1 billion in FY24, according to a statement.
Also announces total annual dividend of 153.43 pence per share for FY24, up 4.5% from year earlier. On track
to deliver results in line with full-year guidance in constant currency. Cites acceleration in tobacco and NGP
net revenue growth.
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