Live updates, Tokyo inflation, Caixin PMI and RBA decision on deck

central bank of australia The central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 4.35% at its December meeting, in line with economists’ forecasts polled by Reuters.

The Reserve Bank of Australia said in a statement that the “limited information” it had received about the domestic economy since its November meeting was consistent with expectations.

The bank noted that October’s CPI data showed inflation was slowing, but did not provide further information on services inflation.

The RBA also stressed that while there are encouraging signs in goods inflation overseas, service price inflation remains strong and a similar scenario could occur in Australia.

— Lim Huijie

Caixin’s China Services Purchasing Managers’ Business Index rose to its highest level in three months in November, a departure from China’s official PMI, which showed a contraction.

According to , the result of this private survey was 51.5 in November. December 5th releaseup from 50.4 in October and 50.2 in September.

November China Official Non-Manufacturing PMI Services Sub-Index released last week was 49.3, marking the first contraction since December 2022.

— Clement Tan

According to au Jibun Bank, business activity in Japan shrank for the first time this year.

The country’s Composite Purchasing Managers Index stood at 49.6 in November, down from the preliminary figure of 50.0 released early last month. A PMI below 50 indicates contraction, and above 50 indicates expansion.

Separately, Japan’s service sector activity slowed to 50.8 in November, marking the slowest growth since November 2022.

au Jibun Bank said service industry activity continued to expand, but the growth rate was insufficient to offset the sharp decline in manufacturing.

— Lim Huijie

Major inflation rates in Japan’s capital Tokyo rose 2.6% November was the lowest rate of increase since July 2022.

This comes after the capital’s inflation rate spiked to 3.3% in October, after mostly trending down from its peak in January. Tokyo’s inflation rate measurements are primarily considered to be a leading indicator of national trends.

Core inflation, which excludes fresh food prices, was 2.3%, lower than Reuters’ forecast of 2.4% and also down from October’s 2.7%.

So-called “core-core” inflation, which subtracts both fresh food and fuel prices monitored by the Bank of Japan, fell slightly to 3.6% from 3.8% in October.

— Lim Huijie

Many stocks have seen big gains this year as investors turned bullish on sectors such as Big Tech, biotech, electric vehicles and weight-loss drugs.

As the year draws to a close, CNBC Pro asked three fund managers about the sectors and stocks they’re bullish on heading into 2024.

CNBC Pro subscribers can find featured shows here.

— Amara Balakrishna

Korean inflation rate It slowed to 3.3% in November, lower than expected and the first decline in three months of acceleration.

A Reuters poll had predicted that the growth rate would be 3.7% in November, down from 3.8% in October.

Compared to the previous month, the consumer price index fell by 0.6%, which was larger than the Reuters survey forecast (0.15%).

— Lim Huijie

Three stocks have posted double-digit gains this year: one listed in the US and two listed in the UK. But investors needn’t fear missing out on those gains, as Wall Street analysts expect the stock to rise another 50% over the next 12 months.

CNBC Pro looked at the MSCI World Index, which includes about 1,500 companies from several developed markets, to select stocks that have shown positive returns this year and have room for gains of 50% or more in the future.

Subscribers can screen stocks at any time using the new CNBC Pro Stock Screener.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Ganesh Rao

Wharton University professor Jeremy Siegel told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Monday morning that he believes it’s time for the Federal Reserve to concede the possibility of lowering interest rates before its December meeting. Ta.

He said the Fed was too slow to raise rates in the last rate hike cycle, but he expects the U.S. central bank to take more aggressive steps this time.

“Given the softness of the data that we’ve honestly seen over the last four weeks, that should be part of the discussion,” he said. “Now that we have to cut rates, we can’t be as stubborn about raising rates as we were before.”

Mr. Siegel has made it clear that he believes a recession is inevitable. But lower rates and an increase in the money supply are the Fed’s best chance of achieving the soft landing it wants, he added.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Defensive sectors, which have lagged the market’s gains this year, outperformed on Monday. In fact, consumer staples, health care, and utilities were among the best-performing S&P 500 sectors this session, although they are still down compared to this year.

Among consumer staples stocks, Estée Lauder stock performed well. Cosmetics stocks rose more than 4% in intraday trading despite falling more than 44% in 2023. Shares of JM Smucker and General Mills each rose more than 1%.

Healthcare stocks like IDEXX Laboratories and Illumina also outperformed the broader market, rising 5% and 3%, respectively.

— Sarah Min

Oil prices continued to fall on Monday despite production cuts announced by OPEC and its allies.

The January contract for West Texas Intermediate fell $1.03, or 1.39%, to settle at $73.04 per barrel, and the February Brent crude oil contract fell 85 cents, or 1.08%, to settle at $78.03 per barrel. It was settled in

Crude oil futures have fallen 6% since Wednesday’s close.

Several OPEC member states, known as OPEC+, and allies including Russia announced last Thursday a voluntary supply cut of 2.2 million barrels per day in the first quarter of 2024.

But traders are skeptical that the group will actually deliver on its promised cuts and lower oil prices.

Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman told Bloomberg on Monday that curbs could continue beyond the first quarter of 2024. Prince Abdulaziz said he was confident that member states would implement the announced cuts.

— Spencer Kimball