European markets open to close: stocks, inflation, oil

Mārtiņš Kazāks, governor of Latvia’s central bank, told CNBC he was “quite happy” with current European Central Bank interest rate levels.

Kazāks, seen as one of the more hawkish members of the Governing Council, said: “The current euro are monetary policy, I would say I’m quite happy, if I may say so, with the interest rate levels where they currently are.”

“But at the same time I would not close the door to further rate increases if necessary,” he added.

Kazāks said his concerns were around wages and whether growth has peaked; and the potential for shocks resulting from geopolitics.

“We have to remain very cautious about inflation developments, and geopolitics is by all means one of the key factors that may drive it.”

Belgium’s central bank governor, Pierre Wunsch, told CNBC Thursday that a sustained shock to oil prices could cause the ECB to hike again, since its members are now more attuned to the prolonged inflationary effects this can have than they were two years ago.

The issue has been brought to the fore both by September’s sharp rise in oil prices and the severe escalation of a bloody conflict between Israel and Hamas.

— Jenni Reid

European stocks were set to open slightly lower Friday, according to IG data.

The U.K.’s FTSE 100 was seen 7 points lower at 7,641, with Germany’s DAX down 52 points at 15,380 and France’s CAC 40 down 24 points at 7,080.

— Jenni Reid

China’s consumer prices came in flat in September, while factory gate prices saw annual declines slow for a third month.

The consumer price index was flat on an annual basis in September, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed. It was below the median estimate for a 0.2% increase in a Reuters poll.

China’s producer price index fell 2.5% from a year earlier, weaker than economists’ expectations for a 2.4% decline.

Tepid prices underscore what China’s top leaders labeled as a “tortuous” economic recovery after the country emerged from its draconian zero Covid curbs toward the end of last year.

— Clement Tan, Lee Ying Shan

Stronger economic growth, accelerating government spending and a bottoming out of inflation are just some reasons why many analysts are bullish on India — and asset management firm AllianceBernstein is no exception.

The analysts expect the South Asian country to give “one of the highest returns among key markets throughout the world for the next several years.”

AllianceBernstein revealed some of its favorite stocks in the country, including two new names on its radar.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Amala Balakrishner

Thursday’s consumer price report for September was “modestly hotter-than-expected” and insufficient to stop the Federal Reserve from raising rates one more time before the end of 2023, according to Wolfe Research chief investment strategist Chris Senyek.

“Our sense is that the FOMC will need to see core inflation break below 4% and believe it will continue to trend downward to pause and remain on hold for a prolonged period,” Senyek wrote to clients.

Over the medium, Senyek believes the lagged effect of the Fed’s rate hikes since March 2022 will eventually “spark economic disappointments, rising recession concerns and a downward EPS revision cycle in the months ahead,” and that declining interest rates will be insufficient to offset the downward bias.

— Scott Schnipper, Michael Bloom

Artificial intelligence-related stocks have rallied as the theme gained traction this year, with investors piling into favorites such as Nvidia and Microsoft.

But according to Deepwater Asset Management, there’s one under-the-radar AI stock that will be essential for the long-term infrastructure rollout of artificial intelligence.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

Oil prices bounced back on Thursday, with futures for U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude rising 1.6% to trade just below the $85 per barrel mark. The move erased some of Wednesday’s declines, the price of oil still remains below Monday’s high and levels from late September, when WTI traded above $90 per barrel.

Helima Croft, RBC Capital Markets commodities strategist, said on “Squawk on the Street” that a report showing a surprising gasoline build in the United States last week is helping to keep prices in check despite the fears that the Israel-Hamas war could expand and disrupt the global oil supply.

“The question is what’s going to win out this year. This broader concern about the macro backdrop — potential demand softness — or questions about the security of supply,” Croft said.

— Jesse Pound

Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, chairman of Société Générale, joins CNBC’s Silvia Amaro during the IMF meetings to discuss his forecast on global inflation and the possibility of a soft landing.