Hong Kong mullahs scrap foreign mask laws: Report
Fitch expects home prices in Australia and China to decline in 2023
Fitch Ratings expects Australian home prices to see a sharp decline of between 7% to 10% next year, it said in its latest report.
The agency also predicts that domestic prices in China will fall by 1% to 3% next year.
“We expect rates to decline further in 2023 before exiting but mortgage performance will decline modestly, given the economic headwinds,” Tracy Wan of Fitch Ratings said in a statement.
However, domestic prices in Japan could pick up the upward trend by 2% to 4% in 2023, the report said. Australian prices are predicted to rise in 2024.
– Jihye Lee
Japan’s economy slowed slightly more than expected in the third quarter
Japan’s economy saw an annual contraction of 0.8% in the third quarter, with an updated gross domestic product reading beating expectations in a Reuters poll of 1.1%.
The government’s first estimate released in November was down 1.2%.
The nation also reported a 64.1 billion yen ($469.3 million) deficit in its unadjusted current account balance, government data showed. The reading significantly missed estimates for a surplus of 623.4 billion yen in a separate Reuters poll.
– Jihye Lee
Australia’s trade surplus was larger than expected in October
Australia’s trade surplus in October reached 12.2 billion Australian dollars ($8.19 billion), slightly larger than expected, official data showed.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a print of 12.1 billion Australian dollars, expecting a further decline than had been reported – after the economy saw a surplus of 12.4 billion Australian dollars.
Exports fell by 0.9%, and imports fell by 0.7%.
— Abigail Ng
Stocks closed significantly lower
Stocks closed lower Wednesday, with the S&P 500 down 0.19% to close at 3,933.92.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed flat, or 1.58 points higher, to finish the session at 33,597.92. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.51% to end at 10,958.55.
— Samantha Subin
CNBC Pro: Bank of America says these two global stocks could rise 75% on EV sales
A shortage of semiconductors at a time of booming electric-car sales could help boost profits for a handful of chipmakers, according to Bank of America.
The Wall Street bank predicted that two chip stocks could see their share prices rise more than 75% on the back of that trend.
CNBC Pro subscribers can learn more here.
– Ganesh Rao
Pending economic data could start a rally next year, said Morgan Stanley’s Slimmon
Don’t be surprised if economic data coming out next week starts a rally towards the end of the year and possibly 2023, according to Andrew Slimmon, senior portfolio manager at Morgan Stanley Investment Management.
The main period of data release begins on Friday with the producer price index, followed by the consumer price index for November and another rate hike from the Federal Reserve next week.
“The last time they were released they all led to rallies in the stock market because we had better inflation publications,” he said.
Like many investors, Slimmon expects a downturn to come, due to the inverted yield curve, but doesn’t expect the “big earnings fall,” or decline, that many people are predicting in the first quarter.
This is partly because many consumers have increased their savings in recent years in light of the recent recession.
“The message this year is that the economy has shown more strength than many people expected and I don’t think the next quarter will be the end of it,” he said.
— Samantha Subin
CNBC Pro: Is Apple a stock to buy or avoid? Two investors face each other
It’s been a tumultuous year for tech companies, as investors flee growth stocks in the face of rising interest rates, and other headlines.
apple held up better among the technical carnage, despite the headwinds.
Two investors appeared on CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia” Wednesday to make the case for buying the stock.
CNBC Pro subscribers can learn more here.
– Weizhen Tan
