Inflation fight becomes more difficult in final stages

A customer is shopping at a supermarket in Oregon.

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This report comes from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open keeps investors updated on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see?You can subscribe here.

What you need to know today

Asian stocks rise
Asian markets rose ahead of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision later in the day. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index and mainland China’s CSI 300 index rose as Beijing kept its preferential lending rate unchanged. South Korea’s Kospi rose on the back of Samsung Electronics, while the small-cap Kosdaq edged higher.Overnight, U.S. stocks rose following the broader market Dow Chemical It closed up more than 300 points to 0.8%, the best one-day gain since February 22. S&P 500 Index rose 0.56% to close at a new record, while Nasdaq Up about 0.4%.

Japanese intervention?
Former senior foreign exchange official Eisuke Sakakibara said Japanese authorities may step in if the yen falls to 155 to the dollar. His comments came a day after the Bank of Japan ended its negative interest rate policy, triggering a sell-off in the currency. He said the yen could also appreciate to 130 early next year.

Cook visits China
Apple CEO Tim Cook visits Shanghai amid declining iPhone sales in China. The visit came ahead of the opening of Shanghai’s latest Apple store on Thursday.China is an important market and manufacturing base for Apple revealed the plan Earlier this month it expanded its research centers in Shanghai and Shenzhen.

Kuwait Petroleum Company CEO talks energy needs
The CEO of Kuwait Petroleum Company said that by 2050, global energy demand will exceed population growth. “This means we will need higher energy intensity from the world’s population,” Shaikh Nawaf al-Sabah told an energy conference. The meeting contradicted predictions that demand would peak in 2030.

(PRO) UBS Global Stock Select
UBS has unveiled its high-conviction global stock picks in Europe and Asia, with one stock offering up to 90% upside. It selected 32 buy recommendations that “are expected to attract and enhance” European investors’ portfolios. For Southeast Asia, the bank picked stocks such as oil producer PTTEP and conglomerate SM Investments.

bottom line

The final step in the fight against inflation is proving difficult for the Fed.

most recent list Worrying economic data points to the persistence of inflation in the broader economy.

Torsten Slok, chief economist at Apollo Global Management, said, “The Fed’s inflation target is 2%, and the bottom line in the inflation discussion is that inflation has started to hit 3%. % is trading sideways, which is a problem for the Fed.” One note.

The Federal Open Market Committee is likely to use this week’s policy meeting to discuss whether inflation continues to cool or whether progress has stalled.

While the central bank is widely expected to keep interest rates on hold, investors will scrutinize any clues about the timing of future rate cuts.

In a CNBC Fed survey, half of the respondents said the biggest risk was that the Fed would cut interest rates too late, while 46% were worried that the Fed would cut interest rates too early.

Still, persistent high inflation is considered the biggest risk to the economic expansion.

Despite the latest wave of hot inflation data, market observers still expect the Fed to stick with its third rate cut.

“Starting in June, we will stick to three targets this year,” Joe Kalish, chief global macro strategist at Ned Davis Research, said in a note.

“But it only takes two participants to change their views for the median to drop from three to two.”