Australia consumer prices mark fifth straight quarter of cooling
Australia’s consumer price index marked its fifth straight quarter of slowing inflation, data showed on Wednesday.
First-quarter CPI rose 3.6% from a year ago, clocking the smallest increase since the fourth quarter of 2021.
The reading was still slightly above a 3.5% increase expected by a Reuters poll.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index traded nearly flat after the data, after rising 0.49% earlier.
— Shreyashi Sanyal
Japan’s service sector producer prices climb 2.3% in March
Producer prices in Japan’s service sector climbed 2.3% year on year in March, accelerating from the revised 2.2% gain recorded in February.
The 2.3% figure was just 0.2 percentage points away from an eight-year high of 2.5%, seen last December.
The producer price index measures the price changes of services traded between companies, and is used as a reflection of how demand and supply of services change.
— Lim Hui Jie
CNBC Pro: Buy these gold and copper stocks to ride AI, China demand and more: Fund managers
Gold and copper have been on fire, as geopolitical tensions mount, central banks buy up gold, and AI demand for copper grows.
Some fund managers and Wall Street analysts continue to be bullish on those commodities.
Here are some names they like.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Weizhen Tan
CNBC Pro: Forget Nvidia: Morgan Stanley says Intel’s much-hyped AI chip will boost 3 global stocks
The launch of Intel‘s latest artificial intelligence chip is expected to benefit three global semiconductor companies, according to Morgan Stanley.
Intel unveiled its third-generation AI accelerator, Gaudi 3, earlier this month. The semiconductor giant said the latest chip is twice as power-efficient and can run AI models one-and-a-half times faster than Nvidia‘s H100 GPU – the flagship product from the current AI chip market leader.
The three global semiconductor companies make various parts of the new AI chip for Intel.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Ganesh Rao
Goldman Sachs’ Kostin expects earnings will be higher this year even amid margin pressures
Goldman Sachs’ David Kostin expects earnings will be higher this year even amid concerns of margin pressures in the face of higher inflation.
About one-fifth of companies have reported thus far this earnings season. Of those companies, Kostin noted, roughly two-thirds have topped expectations on the bottom line, while about one-third beat estimates on the top line.
“What that suggests to us is that companies are able and demonstrating the ability to kind of squeak over a little bit margin,” Kostin told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” on Tuesday.
The chief U.S. equity strategist said he anticipates inflation will eventually move lower this year, and interest rates will come down from their highs, helping to drive earnings growth.
“Our forecast is that [the] market rises slowly in line with expectations for earnings,” Kostin said. “Margins will be roughly flat, and then ultimately it’s a little bit about economic growth will drive sales, and that’s largely the reason for earnings to be higher for this year.”
— Sarah Min
Dimon says economy is booming, but ‘stagflation’ risk remains
JPMorgan Chase CEO and Chairman Jamie Dimon gestures as he speaks during the U.S. Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee oversight hearing on Wall Street firms, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 6, 2023.
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said Tuesday that the American economy remains strong, but could tip into a period of “stagflation.”
At the Economic Club of New York, Dimon said to watch out for “stagflation,” which is an economic situation defined by high inflation and unemployment as well as slowed growth. Despite that concern, he said the American economy has continued to boom.
The bank chief also said the current geopolitical situation is likely the “most complicated and dangerous” since World War II.
— Alex Harring, Ritika Shah
U.S. crude oil falls to lowest level since March, dips below 50-day moving average
An aerial view shows a pumpjack operating at an oil well in Gray Horse, Oklahoma, on Sept. 29, 2023.
Chandan Khanna | AFP | Getty Images
U.S. crude oil hit a session low of $80.89 a barrel on Tuesday, the lowest level since late March.
The West Texas Intermediate futures contract for June also dipped below the 50-day moving average of $81.22 a barrel for the first time since early February.
WTI was last trading at $81.51 a barrel, down 39 cents, while the June Brent futures contract was last down 36 cents at $86.64 a barrel.
Traders have bid down prices after a runup early this month on fears that Iran and Israel were on the brink of war. Those fears have largely dissipated as the bitter enemies have signaled they are not interested in a wider war after trading tit-for-tat strikes this month.
The market was also unconcerned about looming oil sanctions on Iran. The House of Representatives passed legislation over the weekend that would target ports, vessels and refineries that accept Iranian oil. The Senate could take up the legislation this week.
— Spencer Kimball