Europe stocks open higher ahead of Fed rate decision; UK house prices show surprise rise | (2024)

European stocks opened higher Wednesday, as global markets look to shake off a gloomy October.

The Stoxx 600 index was up 0.48% at 8:15 a.m., with health-care, autos and retail stocks all gaining around 1%, while utilities fell 0.7%.

France’s CAC 40 index gained 0.44%, while Germany’s DAX and the U.K.’s FSTE 100 were both 0.4% higher.

Stoxx 600 index.

U.K. house prices recorded a surprise increase of 0.9% month on month in October, lender Nationwide said Wednesday.

Economists polled by Reuters expected a 0.4% monthly decline.

Prices were 3.3% lower year on year, versus an expectation of 4.8%, and following an annual decline of 5.3% in September.

“Housing market activity has remained extremely weak, with just 43,300 mortgages approved for house purchase in September, around 30% below the monthly average prevailing in 2019,” said Robert Gardner, chief economist at Nationwide.

“This is not surprising as affordability remains stretched. Market interest rates, which underpin mortgage pricing, have moderated somewhat but they are still well above the lows prevailing in 2021.”

The uptick in October was likely due to constraints on the supply of properties and solid labor market conditions, Gardner said.

— Jenni Reid

China’s manufacturing activity logged a surprise contraction in October, a private survey showed.

The Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing PMI fell to 49.5 in October from 50.6 in September. This was the first contraction in four months. Economists polled by Reuters expected a reading of 50.8.

A PMI reading below 50 denotes a contraction.

The survey mirrors the official figure released by the country’s national bureau of statistics on Tuesday.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

Japan’s markets saw a strong open, extending gains from Tuesday when the Bank of Japan increased the flexibility around its yield curve control policy.

The Nikkei 225 was 2.05% higher, powered by gains in distribution services and consumer durable stocks.

Some of the top gainers on the Nikkei include automaker Subaru, investment broker Daiwa Securities, and Lasertec, which manufactures inspection equipment for semiconductor firms.

— Lim Hui Jie

Japan’s yen held at an over one-year low against the U.S. dollar a day after the country’s central bank stood pat on interest rates and said it will be more flexible with its yield curve control policy.

The yen weakened 0.25%, falling past the 150 per dollar threshold to trade at 151.29. The current level was the lowest since late October 2022.

The Bank of Japan said on Tuesday the target level of the 10-year Japanese government bond yield will be held at 0%, but will take the upper bound of 1% “as a reference.”

— Shreyashi Sanyal

Global markets may be plagued with stagflation and the possibility of a world war, but several themes make good plays to “make money” in the short and medium term, says David Neuhauser, founder and chief investment officer at the U.S. headquartered Livermore Partners.

The hedge fund manager names two asset classes as well as one theme in the equities market that he is positive on right now.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Amala Balakrishner

Traders should “rethink” one tech stock associated with an old corner of the industry, according to one investor.

“This is one of my favorite names in years,” Philip Blancato, CEO of Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management, told CNBC.

“They’re becoming an AI company. They’re becoming a cloud company … They’re expanding in all aspects of net based cloud services for all business enhancements,” he said.

He added that it’s now a tech company trading at valuations “significantly better” than its peers, and that “it’s going to surprise you what they can do in the next couple of years.”

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

European markets are expected to open higher Wednesday ahead of the Federal Reserve’s latest monetary policy decision.

The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 19 points higher at 7,332, Germany’s DAX up 55 points at 14,842, France’s CAC up 20 points at 6,900 and Italy’s FTSE MIB up 40 points at 27,700, according to data from IG.

Earnings are set to come from Lundin Petroleum, Wolters Kluwer, Next, Metro Bank, GSK and Aston Martin on Wednesday. There are no major data releases.

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