Sluggish CPI leads to market’s best day since November | Wilnesh News

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.

Core CPI lower than expected
U.S. consumer price index rises on seasonally adjusted basis The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a monthly increase of 0.4% in December, and the 12-month inflation rate was 2.9%. report Wednesday. The core inflation rate, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 0.2% from the previous quarter and rose 3.2% for the year. The full-year reading fell 0.1 percentage points from November. Both core readings also missed expectations by 0.1 percentage points.

Israel and Hamas reach ceasefire agreement
Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire and hostage release agreement on Wednesday, ending a 15-month war in the Gaza Strip. Israel’s security cabinet still must vote on the deal before it can be implemented. U.S. President Joe Biden said the first phase of the deal, if approved, would include a comprehensive ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the densely populated Gaza enclave.

Markets have best day in months
U.S. stocks had their best day since November on Wednesday as inflation data fell short of expectations and U.S. Treasury yields fell. Asia-Pacific stocks followed Wall Street higher on Thursday. Korean composite stock price index Stocks rose more than 1% after the Bank of Korea unexpectedly kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3%. The Bank of Korea also warned that the country’s gross domestic product in 2024 and 2025 is “highly likely” to be lower than expected.

TSMC sales hit record high
Taiwan listed stocks British Semiconductor The company’s shares rose about 3.8% after the company reported fourth-quarter profit and revenue that topped consensus estimates from the London Stock Exchange Group. The company reported December revenue last week, bringing its annual total to NT$2.9 trillion ($88 billion), its highest annual sales since going public in 1994.

Major banks’ profits beat expectations
Fourth-quarter profits and revenue from JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs easily topped Wall Street forecasts. JPMorgan executives said the bank will ramp up share buybacks despite Chief Executive Jamie Dimon saying in May the stock was expensive. Separately, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said at an event after the bank’s earnings call that IPO activity “will increase” due to “improving business conditions.”

(PRO) Who can buy Ubisoft?
Ubisoft Advisors were appointed on January 9 to review the direction of its business. That sparked speculation about who the possible buyer might be. CNBC’s Ryan Browne spoke with industry analysts to find out who might be a candidate to take over French gaming publisher Ubisoft if it does offer to sell.

Finally, a slew of good news for bulls, who have seen markets decline every week on lingering inflation concerns after a dismal start to the year.

Top of page: U.S. inflation fell below expectations in December. To be sure, headline inflation for the month was 0.1 percentage point higher than the Dow Jones consensus estimate.

But the Fed focuses more on core inflation because it strips out fluctuations in energy and food prices and more accurately reflects price changes in the economy. On a monthly and annual basis, core inflation was lower than expected.

In fact, as CNBC’s Jeff Cox puts it pointed out that “the main reason for the CPI increase was a 2.6% increase in energy prices during the month, which was driven by a 4.4% increase in gasoline prices. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), this accounted for approximately 40% of the index’s increase.”