Live updates, South Korea PPI, Indonesia interest rates

10 Hours Ago

South Korean shipping giant HMM tumbles after red-hot rally over last three days

Shares of South Korea’s largest container shipping firm HMM plunged as much as 12.5%, leading losses on the country’s benchmark Kospi index. The drop follows a three-day rally that saw the stock rocket by over 40%.

On Tuesday, a consortium made up of South Korean poultry processor Harim Group and private equity firm JKL Partners was chosen as the preferred bidder for HMM in a $4.9 billion deal.

However, Reuters reported that HMM said on the same day it had ordered its ships departing Europe — which would normally use the Suez Canal — to reroute via the Cape of Good Hope for an indefinite period of time, following a series of attacks on merchant ships.

HMM is among the top 10 largest container shipping firms globally, moving almost all of South Korea’s exports.

— Lim Hui Jie

16 Hours Ago

Toyota leads losses on Nikkei after safety issues with Daihatsu and airbags

Japanese automaker Toyota led losses on the benchmark Nikkei 225 index, falling as much as 4.87% Thursday.

This comes after Toyota announced to recall about one million vehicles on Thursday. The safety recall involved certain 2020-2022 Toyota and Lexus models in the United States.

This also comes after Toyota subsidiary Daihatsu halted shipments of all its vehicles on Wednesday, after an investigation found safety issues with its vehicles, including cases where airbag control units used in airbag tests for some models were different from the ones sold to the public.

The panel has been investigating Daihatsu after it said in April it had rigged side-collision safety tests carried out for 88,000 small cars, most of those sold as Toyotas.

16 Hours Ago

South Korea producer prices climb 0.6% in November — slowest rise in 4 months

Producer prices in South Korea climbed 0.6% year-on-year in November, its slowest rise in four months. PPI had risen 0.8% in October.

On a month-on-month basis, producer prices fell 0.4% in November, deepening from the 0.1% drop seen in the month before.

South Korea’s producer price index measures monthly variations in the prices of goods shipped by industrial producers within the domestic market.

— Lim Hui Jie

17 Hours Ago

CNBC Pro: Here’s how to create a diversified portfolio of stocks and bonds for 2024, according to the pros

Investors will face a number of uncertainties in 2024, including the question of whether a recession will be avoided or how geopolitical risks will develop.

Stocks have been rallying this year, while bonds fell into a bear market — before investors recently started flocking back to this asset.

Against that backdrop, cautious investors may want to create a diversified portfolio as they head into 2024.

Speaking to CNBC Pro Talksthree experts discussed their market outlooks and investment strategies for 2024.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

17 Hours Ago

CNBC Pro: Citi upgraded a global stock after its move to cut its Russian stake — and gives it 27% upside

Citi has upgraded shares of a European stock after the company announced a complex transaction that will weaken its links to Russia.

The move should also help the company improve its earnings outlook, according to the Wall Street bank, which led it to raise the price target and give it a 27% upside.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Ganesh Rao

20 Hours Ago

Fed may not cut interest rates until June, Morgan Stanley economists warns

Morgan Stanley said the next few inflation prints could be sticky and the Federal Reserve may not begin cutting interest rates until later than many expect.

“We think it will take until June for the Fed to have clear and convincing evidence inflation will return to the 2% target, and therefore begin cutting rates,” Ellen Zentner, the firm’s chief economist told clients.

That could be bad news for stocks, which have rallied this month to end an already-strong year. Investors have been growing increasingly optimism about the potential for the central bank to pull down rates starting in March.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full story here.

— Alex Harring

21 Hours Ago

Oil largely flat as traders weigh U.S. production against Red Sea threats

Oil prices were largely flat on Wednesday as traders weighed record U.S. production against threats to shipping in the Red Sea from militants.

U.S. crude rose 28 cents, or .38%, to settle at $74.22 a barrel, while Brent gained 47 cents, or .59%, to settle at $79.70 a barrel.

Oil prices rose more than 1% earlier in the day as traders worried that threats to shipping in the Red Sea from militants based in Yemen could disrupt crude supply. BP this week paused shipping through the Suez Canal due to safety concerns.

But traders’ focus shifted to worries that the market might be oversupplied after the U.S. produced an estimated 13.3 million barrels per day of crude last week, a new record.

Oil markets have grown bearish as breakneck production outside OPEC collides with a weakening economy in China, with crude prices declining significantly since September highs.

— Spencer Kimball

Wed, Dec 20 2023 8:40 AM EST

10-year Treasury yield falls below 3.9% to lowest since July

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield fell Wednesday to its lowest level since July as traders assessed the path of future rate cuts from the Federal Reserve.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was last down around 4 basis points to 3.879%. Earlier in the session, it hit a low of 3.871%, or its lowest level since July 27 when the 10-year yielded as low as 3.839%.

See Chart…

10-year U.S. Treasury yield

— Sarah Min, Gina Francolla

20 Hours Ago

Citigroup moves to cut its distressed-debt business, sources say

Citigroup will close its distressed-debt business as part of the ongoing overhaul that CEO Jane Fraser is leading, sources told CNBC’s Hugh Son.

The group employs about 40 people, according to people with direct knowledge of the move.

Read the full story here.

— Jesse Pound