China, Aussie stocks gain, Japan shares take a breather

Hong Kong’s house prices have fallen this year, hitting record lows. Lowest since 2017. But analysts say the real estate market could improve considerably in 2024.

CBRE head of research Marcos Chan said: “Next year should be better due to the possibility of a US rate cut…market sentiment will improve and trading volumes will start to recover in the second half of next year.” Hong Kong told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia.”

Mr Chan added that although Hong Kong’s housing demand may recover in 2024, the property market does not see a “very strong V-shaped recovery”.

If interest rates finally start to fall and the yuan appreciates in the next 12 to 18 months, real estate prices could rise by several percentage points, he said.

Chan also pointed out that Hong Kong’s commercial real estate market is likely to remain depressed as office vacancy rates remain high. According to a survey, Hong Kong’s office market recorded a vacancy rate of 15.8% and 13.6 million square feet of vacant space in the third quarter. report By CBRE.

With this, Hong Kong’s residential real estate will probably perform better than commercial land next year, Chan said.

— Kwek Jie An

Stocks rose, but bonds had a mixed 2023. Robert Almeida, global investment strategist at MFS Investment Management, favors bonds as the market bets on lower interest rates.

“I believe that bonds are more attractive than stocks just because of their risk-adjusted return profile,” he told CNBC Pro. “Bonds have reduced risk, whereas stocks have negative returns. “There is a possibility that the volume could be quite high,” he told CNBC Pro, citing the bond by name. And the stocks he likes.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Amara Balakrishna

BTIG’s Justin Zelin said AstraZeneca’s acquisition of Gracell Biotechnologies, announced on Tuesday, is “significant” as it is the first acquisition of a Chinese biotech company by a major multinational pharmaceutical company. He said that there is. He sees the move as “bullish for Chinese biotech companies in general.”

“Despite the recent volatility in Chinese biotech stocks, we remain hopeful about China’s biotech innovation engine, particularly cell therapy,” he said. Sellin cited Legend, which is rated a buy, as an example of a company that could benefit if this becomes a broader trend.

In midday trading, AstraZeneca shares were up more than 1%, while Gray Cell shares were flat. Legend stock is down more than 1%, but is up 17% year-to-date.

According to LSEG, most analysts are bullish on Legend stock, with an average expected upside of 48%.

—Christina Cheddar Burke

Oil prices fell on Wednesday after surging earlier in the week on concerns about disruption to Red Sea shipping due to attacks by Yemeni militants.

U.S. crude oil fell $1.46, or 1.93%, to settle at $74.11 per barrel, while global benchmark Brent crude fell $1.42, or 1.75%, to settle at $79.65.

The fall came after prices jumped more than 2% on Tuesday after Houthi militants claimed responsibility for a missile attack on a container ship.

Repeated attacks by armed groups in the Red Sea have raised concerns that global shipping could be disrupted and oil supplies affected. Those concerns appear to have been alleviated somewhat after Maersk and France’s CMA CGM announced they would resume shipments.

The United States is leading an international task force to protect Red Sea traffic.

— Spencer Kimball

If inflation remains higher than expected, the Federal Reserve may have to adopt a more pessimistic tone and hold off on cutting interest rates, said Torsten Slok, chief economist at Apollo Global Management. It is said that there is.

“The fight against inflation is not over yet,” he told CNBC’s “Money Movers.” “And if the fight against inflation is not over, that means all the negative effects of the fight against inflation – higher interest rates and higher costs of capital – will continue to remain.”

Mr. Slok said housing could cause inflation to stagnate, complicating the path to 2% inflation for monetary policymakers. He said the market could be “getting ahead of the curve” by expecting six rate cuts next year, and said he expected only three cuts.

He also said the Fed’s comments could swing the “pendulum” from a dovish to a more hawkish direction.

— Alex Harring

Apple on Wednesday won a narrow victory in its ongoing patent battle with Masimo after a U.S. Court of Appeals suspended a ban on imports of its smartwatches.

Apple stopped selling its Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches earlier this month in response to an International Trade Commission order that said its blood oxygen sensor infringed on a medical technology company’s intellectual property.

The iPhone maker filed an appeal with the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday. The ITC has until January 10 to respond to the motion.

The stock price fell 0.5% last time.

— Kif Leswing, Samantha Subin