Singapore and New York are ranked among the most expensive cities to live: EIU
Singapore and New York have been ranked as the most expensive cities to live in this year, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
EIU’s survey showed that the average price of goods in 172 major cities around the world rose 8.1% in local currency this year, citing a survey the organization conducted between August 16 and September 16. .
The reading marks a significant increase from a 3.5% rise in prices seen in the same survey the organization conducted last year.
— Charmaine Jacob
India on track to become third largest economy by 2030
India is expected to overtake Japan and Germany to become the world’s third-largest economy, S&P Global and Morgan Stanley predicted in a report.
S&P’s prediction is based on the projection that India’s annual nominal GDP growth will average 6.3% through 2030. Similarly, Morgan Stanley estimates that India’s GDP will more than double by from current levels by 2031.
On Wednesday, India recorded year-on-year GDP growth of 6.3% for the July-September quarter, slightly beating a Reuters poll estimate of 6.2%.
— Lee Ying Shan
CNBC Pro: Citi Names 6 Global Stocks That Capture Both “Defensive Growth and Value”
Citi says investors don’t need to give up growth entirely by turning to a defensive portfolio of stocks ahead of a possible recession.
The investment bank named six global stocks that offer “low risk, quality and growth” combined.
CNBC Pro subscribers can learn more here.
—Ganesh Rao
South Korea’s November inflation beats expectations
South Korea’s annualized inflation for November came in at 5%, below estimates of 5.1% surveyed in a Reuters poll.
The latest reading marks a slight easing from 5.7% in October and from an all-time high of 6.3% seen in July.
– Jihye Lee
CNBC Pro: BlackRock unit tells investors it’s time for a new portfolio playbook
BlackRock’s ETF division says the investment environment has fundamentally changed, which has “profound implications” for future portfolios.
In its 2023 investor guide, Blackrock’s iShares, one of the world’s largest providers of exchange-traded funds, said the change has “profound implications for portfolio construction.”
CNBC Pro subscribers can learn more here.
—Weizhen Tan
‘No one wants to be aggressively bullish’ before new labor data comes out on Friday, analyst says
Stocks were unable to continue Wednesday’s rally because investors were waiting for a key jobs report to come Friday, said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda.
He said investors were deliberately backing off ahead of nonfarm payrolls data to come in the morning. Investors will also be watching data on hourly wages and the unemployment rate.
“US equities were unable to hold onto earlier gains as Wall Street digested a slew of economic data that showed inflation easing and the labor market cooling,” Moya said. “It was a nice rally, but nobody wants to be aggressive when approaching the NFP report.”
Investors will be looking for the right interim data, said Megan Horneman, chief investment officer at Verdence Capital Advisors. This means that it is small enough to show that interest rate hikes are having the expected impact of an economic contraction, yet strong enough to signal that a recession could be avoided.
“A lot will scare the markets more that the Fed won’t be able to slow its pace of rate hikes,” Megan Horneman, chief investment officer at Verdence Capital Advisors, said of Friday’s jobs data.
With “an average number, I think maybe the markets can rally on that,” she added. “But if you get a really weak number, that’s just going to scare investors off after such a strong rally as we saw in November.”
—Alex Harring
The indexes come out of the winning month
Thursday marked the first day of a new month of trading as the market had a winning November.
The S&P500 and Dow each saw the second straight month of gains, up 5.38% and 5.67%, respectively. This monthly streak was the first for everyone since August 2021.
The Nasdaq Compound gained 4.37%, which was its second consecutive positive month. It was the first time the tech-heavy index had started a streak since seeing three consecutive months of victories end in December 2021.
—Alex Harring
The key inflation indicator rose less than expected in October
The Bureau of Economic Analysts reported that the core personal consumption expenditure index, a key gauge of inflation, rose 0.2% in October. This is less than the expected 0.3% increase in the Dow Jones.
Following the report, Treasury yields fell amid optimism about falling inflation.
—Fred Imbert
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