UK economy worse than previously estimated in third quarter
The U.K. economy contracted by 0.1% in the third quarter, the Office for National Statistics said, revising down its previous estimate of no growth.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected the reading to hold.
The economy showed no growth in the second quarter, the ONS added, also down from a previous estimate of a 0.2% increase.
“Overall, today’s release suggests the economy was a bit weaker than we previously thought in Q3 and the mildest of mild recession may have begun. Looking ahead, the latest activity surveys point to weak GDP growth in Q4 too,” Ashley Webb, U.K. economist at Capital Economics, said in a note.
— Jenni Reid
Europe stocks head for lower open
European stock markets are set to open slightly lower Friday.
IG data shows the U.K.’s FTSE 100 down 13.9 points at 7,692, France’s CAC 40 down 5 points at 7,565, and Germany’s DAX down 9 points at 16,681. Italy’s MIB is set to slip 63.9 points to 30,423.
— Jenni Reid
Oil rebounds a day after Angola’s OPEC exit sent prices lower
Oil prices rebounded Friday, a day after Angola’s announcement of its withdrawal from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC, sent prices lower .
Brent crude futures for January climbed 0.83 to trade at $80.05 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was up 0.88% at $74.54.
Angola announced Thursday it would leave OPEC, with the country’s oil minister saying the block no longer served the country’s interests, according to a Reuters report.
— Lim Hui Jie
CNBC Pro: Rates are likely past their peak. Here are some global growth stocks that Goldman Sachs likes
Interest rates appear to have peaked, and growth stocks are an area worth looking at right now, according to Goldman Sachs.
“As interest rates appear to have peaked, Pure Growth … offers exposure to duration while Stable Growers … is more defensive,” the investment bank wrote in a December note.
Last week, the U.S. Federal Reserve indicated there will be three cuts coming in 2024, ending a cycle of 11 hikes. Rate hikes have not usually been good for growth stocks.
Goldman did two stock screens for its so-called pure growth and stable grower categories.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Weizhen Tan
CNBC Pro: Citi updated its ‘highest conviction’ stock list for Europe — naming 4 stocks to beat the market
The time for the ‘Santa Clause Rally’ starts Friday
Wall Street will see if a “Santa Clause Rally” — which refers to the gains typical of the final five trading days of the year, and the first two of the new year — will materialize this holiday season. This year, the season commences Friday until Jan. 3.
Since 1969, the S&P 500 on average has gained 1.3% during this period, according to the Jeff Hirsch, editor of the Stock Trader’s Almanac. But the editor noted a failure of the Santa Clause Rally to materialize is historically a harbinger for poor stock performance.
“Failure to have a Santa Claus Rally tends to precede bear markets or times when stocks could be purchased at lower prices later in the year,” Hirsch wrote in a blog post. “Down SCRs were followed by flat years in 1994, 2005 and 2015, two nasty bear markets in 2000 and 2008 and a mild bear that ended in February 2016.”
“As Yale Hirsch’s now famous line states, ‘If Santa Claus should fail to call, bears may come to Broad and Wall,'” Hirsch added.
Yale Hirsch, who originated the term, was the founder of the Stock Trader’s Almanac.
— Sarah Min