MARKET WRAPS
Watch For:
Flash PMI for EU, U.K., France, Germany; EU ECB Executive Board
Member Isabel Schnabel speaks at Porto Business School anniversary
dinner, ECB accounts of its last monetary policy discussions; U.K.
Consumer confidence survey; Germany Deutsche Bundesbank financial
stability review; France business sentiment index; trading updates
from FirstGroup, Currys, Intertek Group
Opening Call:
Stock futures were broadly lower amid light trading with the
U.S. and Japan closed for a holiday. Asian stock benchmarks were
mixed; the dollar weakened; while oil futures declined and gold
advanced.
Equities:
European stock futures were broadly lower ahead of regional
flash PMI data and the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.
Some investors think beaten-down corners of the market could
have room to run, at least in the near term.
"The year-to-date losers, the ones that have not participated
nearly as much so far this year, we do think they can continue to
perform well into the end of the year," said Zachary Hill, head of
portfolio management at Horizon Investments.
Forex:
The U.S. dollar weakened early Thursday ahead of the U.S.
Thanksgiving holiday and in the absence of U.S. economic data for
the rest of this week.
--
The yen strengthened against most other G-10 and Asian
currencies early Thursday.
Japan's CPI data will likely be in focus on Friday, said Saxo
Markets' APAC Strategy Team.
A higher-than-expected CPI reading would likely spur speculation
of a policy tweak by the Bank of Japan and lead to JPY
appreciation, the team added.
Bonds:
Investors should be wary of holding U.K. assets such as sterling
and gilts as the U.K. policy mix will become more convoluted, Neil
Mehta, portfolio manager at RBC BlueBay Asset Management said.
The medium-term growth outlook and fiscal situation remain "very
challenging," he said.
"If polling doesn't pick up in 1Q next year, we would expect
further desperation from the government and unpredictable behavior
heading into the full budget in April," he added.
--
The U.S. bond market is closed Thursday for the Thanksgiving
holiday and will shut early on Friday.
U.S. Treasury yields finished mixed in choppy trading on
Wednesday.
Energy:
Oil futures declined early Thursday after the Organization of
the Petroleum Exporting Countries delayed its summit due to be held
on Sunday by four days to resolve a disagreement over the
production of African nations.
Several members are reportedly unhappy about their production
targets for next year, levels which were unveiled in June, ING
commodities strategists said.
Bill Weatherburn, commodity analyst at Capital Economics, still
expects Saudi Arabia to extend its voluntary production cut into
next year but said the rest of the OPEC group is unlikely to lower
production.
Metals:
Gold gained in Asia supported by prospects of lower Treasury
yields and USD.
Lower yields and USD have been a clear benefit for gold prices,
thanks to softer U.S. economic data that has brought forward the
case for the Fed's first rate cut in 2024, Matt Simpson, market
analyst at City Index and
https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://forex.com__;!!F0Stn7g!DuX09R9NH__3M1RMHwNMQia5Uhpa6AgH4ItFnPMTx89GUuv7VM3Z8h3MuN1yGb0qMIHY9vX6TNeQv7HSw-_qfBSZCslF9EHBhKT9M3MCVTE$
said.
However, with an effective four-day weekend looming in the U.S.,
gold currently lacks the impetus to break clearly above the
$2,000/oz mark, Simpson added.
--
Copper prices edged higher after falling overnight.
Softer economic activity in developed countries and geopolitical
risks keep the base metal on a weaker footing, ANZ analysts
said.
However, as the supply shortage of copper mines continues and
demand from the new-energy sector grows, copper prices have more
upward momentum in the long term, Huafu Securities said.
--
Iron ore prices fell after China regulators said they would step
up market oversight.
The joint statement from regulators Thursday came in response to
recent sharp rallies in iron ore prices.
The regulators urged companies not to play up price increases or
hoard iron ore and asked that they refrain from speculating or
manipulating the futures market.
TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES
Why stocks' Thanksgiving-week performance is important to
watch
While the U.S. trading week is shortened by the Thanksgiving
holiday, it's important to watch the stock market's performance to
see if the rally of the past month can be sustained through the
year-end.
Stocks have rallied in November so far, with the S&P 500
index SPX logging a 8.6% gain month-to-date, while it's up 18.6% so
far this year, according to FactSet data.
OPEC Delays Summit Over Production Spat
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries delayed
its summit as it tries to resolve a disagreement over the
production of African nations, according to delegates.
OPEC and a group of Russia-led allies were set to meet on Sunday
to discuss production levels next year but the meeting has now been
pushed back by four days, they said.
China Regulators to Step Up Oversight of Iron-Ore Market
Chinese regulators pledged to step up oversight of the nation's
iron-ore market and warned traders not to speculate or hype price
increases.
The joint statement from regulators Thursday came in response to
recent sharp rallies in iron ore prices.
Colt Makes $1.74 Billion Offer for Vista Outdoor, Gate-crashing
Rival Deal
Firearms manufacturer Colt CZ Group has made an unsolicited
offer to acquire U.S. -based Vista Outdoor that values its equity
at $1.74 billion, seeking to block the latter's proposed merger
with a Czech industrial technology company.
Colt has proposed a cash-and-stock merger with the sporting and
outdoor-goods company that would value its shares at $30.00 each,
Vista said late Wednesday.
Release of Gaza Hostages Is Delayed Until Friday
A planned release of 50 hostages held in Gaza along with 150
Palestinian prisoners and a pause in fighting has been delayed
hours before it was set to begin on Thursday, Israeli, U.S. and
regional officials said.
"The start of the release will take place according to the
original agreement between the sides, and not before Friday,"
Israel's national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said Wednesday.
Hanegbi said contacts toward the release of the hostages
continued.
Binance Penalties Include a Number of Crypto Industry Firsts
U.S. regulators' settlement with the largest cryptocurrency
exchange marked a new era in its enforcement efforts in the nascent
sector.
Some of the penalties imposed on Binance are a first for a
cryptocurrency company, with regulators employing powerful measures
typically used in the past to rein in major financial
institutions.
Bankrupt Crypto Lender Genesis Global Sues to Recover $689.3
Million in Digital Assets
Genesis Global has filed a lawsuit to recover about $689.3
million worth of digital assets that a former business partner
withdrew from the cryptocurrency lender before it filed for chapter
11 bankruptcy protection.
The lawsuit said Gemini Trust withdrew the assets on behalf of
customers in the crypto exchange's Earn investment program between
mid-October and mid-November 2022, at the "nadir" of the crypto
market's turmoil and in a 90-day window before Genesis's bankruptcy
filing.
Elon Musk's Social-Media Comments Spark Tesla Investor
Backlash
The controversy over Elon Musk's comments on the social-media
platform X reached the board of Tesla this week.
Several prominent Tesla investors are speaking out after Musk,
the car maker's chief executive, last week called an antisemitic
post "the actual truth."
Write to singaporeeditors@dowjones.com
Expected Major Events for Thursday
07:00/NOR: Sep Monthly GDP
07:00/NOR: Oct Credit Indicator C2
07:00/NOR: Sep Labour force survey SA, incl unemployment
07:00/DEN: Nov Business tendency survey
07:45/FRA: Nov Monthly business survey (goods-producing
industries)
08:15/FRA: Nov France Flash PMI
08:30/GER: Nov Germany Flash PMI
08:30/SWE: Swedish repo rate announcement
09:00/EU: Nov Eurozone Flash PMI
09:30/UK: Nov Flash UK PMI
11:00/FRA: 3Q OECD trade statistics release
11:00/TUR: Turkish interest rate decision
11:00/IRL: 3Q Labour Force Survey
13:00/POL: Oct Broad money M3
All times in GMT. Powered by Onclusive and Dow Jones.
Write to us at newsletters@dowjones.com
We offer an enhanced version of this briefing that is optimized
for viewing on mobile devices and sent directly to your email
inbox. If you would like to sign up, please go to
https://newsplus.wsj.com/subscriptions.
This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal
newsletter published earlier today.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 23, 2023 00:15 ET (05:15 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
FTSE 100
Index Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
FTSE 100
Index Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024