Hong Kong stocks rise Asian markets mixed before Fed rate decision

Oil futures rose on Wednesday after industry reports showed a decline in US crude inventories in the last week, Reuters Citing figures from the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday.

Brent crude futures contracts A profit of $1.31, or 1.46%, to stand at $95.87 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate US It rose 1.28% to $89.67 a barrel.

– Lee Ying Shan

Defense-related stocks listed in South Korea and Japan jumped after military authorities in Seoul confirmed that North Korea had launched more than 10 types of missiles off its east coast.

Authorities said the missile barrage included a single ballistic missile that landed in the free waters on the South Korean side of the Northern Limit Line, the de facto sea border separating the two Koreas – the first time since the Korean War.

Shares of defense companies Hanwha Aerospace jumped more than 5% in Korea’s morning trade, and shares of Victek Corp surged more than 7%.

Japan Defense shares were trading slightly higher with Hosuya Bayru Engineering approximately 1%.

– Jie Lee

Policy board members agreed at the Bank of Japan’s latest meeting that it was appropriate to “persistently continue with broad-based monetary easing,” according to the Minute released Wednesday.

One member said the central bank’s stance on easing should continue even if inflation accelerates in the short term, as long as expectations remain low.

A few members said that the BOJ’s monetary policy targets price stability rather than foreign exchange rates, and that it should “carefully explain” the need to maintain the current position.

Some members said the expansion of inbound tourism consumption was one way to take advantage of the weak yen.

Separately, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda It said He told Parliament that the yield curve control policy could be adjusted in the future, according to Reuters.

“If our 2% inflation target appears to be met, making yield curve control more flexible could become an option,” Kuroda was quoted as saying.

– Abigail Ng

South Korea’s consumer price index rose 5.7% in October from the same period last year, above the average estimate of 5.6% that a Reuters poll had forecast.

Data from Statistics Korea It showed that prices rose 0.3% compared to the previous month.

Electricity, gas and industry prices led the increase, and core inflation, which does not include food and oil prices, rose by 4.8% compared to last year.

– Jie Lee

There is one investment that can protect investors from rising interest rates, inflation and geopolitical risks, says Jeff Currie of Goldman Sachs.

Currie, global head of commodity research at Goldman Sachs, said it has a growth potential of 20-30% in the short term, with additional upside risks to the price target.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

– Ganesh Rao

Stocks in Hong Kong and Mainland China rallied Tuesday after circulating unconfirmed reports about the formation of a committee to reopen discussions in China. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Reuters He was not aware of the situation.

Zhao was quoted as saying, “I don’t know where you got this information from. I don’t really know anything about this.”

Economist Hao Hong of the Grow Investment Group Tweet that the Rumors Committee is reviewing data from multiple countries It aims to reopen in March next year.

– Jie Lee

Stocks closed lower as markets braced for another Fed rate decision on Wednesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 79.75 points, or 0.24%, to 32,653.20, while the S&P 500 fell 0.41% to 3,856.10. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.89% to 10,890.85.

– Samantha Sobin

Investors may be a little excited about possible changes from the Federal Reserve, according to Lauren Goodwin, economist and portfolio strategist at New York Life Investments.

Goodwin said in a note that she expects the Fed to rise by 0.75 percentage points on Wednesday and half a point in December, but the slowdown should not be seen as the start of a major turnaround from the central bank.

“Fed pauses are not such a pivot point,” Goodwin said in a statement. “Sure, deteriorating economic and credit conditions may turn the Fed modestly at some point, but it is highly unlikely that there will be a full pivot into accommodative territory.” next year.” note.

Goodwin noted that the first hikes in interest rates should now begin to have an impact across the broader economy, rather than just housing. However, the Fed will need several months of data to work its way around before changing course.

“At this point, with inflation as surprising as it has already been, the Fed will want to see clear signs of a reversal in wage growth before pivoting,” Goodwin said.

– Jesse Pound