British business confidence has fallen in two surveys
A fall in confidence in British businesses was recorded in two surveys published on Wednesday.
A gauge from the bank Lloyds showed business confidence at its lowest level since February 2021 and below the long-term average.
It also saw overall economic optimism fall for the sixth consecutive month and hiring intentions were at an 18-month low.
Wage expectations fell slightly for businesses, but they said they would continue to target higher prices for their goods and services to offset higher operating costs.
Meanwhile, a survey of the service sector by the Confederation of British Industry found a decline in optimism for the third consecutive quarter. The fall is the sharpest since May 2020, when the UK went into lockdown.
— Jenny Reid
Stocks on the move: SBB up 5%, Avanza down 7%
SBB shares rose 5% in early trade to lead the Stoxx 600 after the Swedish real estate company agreed to sell a 49% stake in its education unit to Brookfield for 9.2 billion Swedish krone ($870.42 million ).
At the bottom of the European blue chip index, Swedish banks Advance fell 7% after the Riksbank proposed the latest policy rate hike will not affect its net interest positively.
– Elliot Smith
Inflation in France was slightly higher than expected in November
France was the first major European economy to report inflation data on Wednesday.
The French consumer price index rose by 0.4% month-on-month and 6.2% year-on-year, according to preliminary figures from the statistics office INSEE, unchanged from October and slightly above projections of 0.3% per month and 6.1% per year.
On an EU-harmonized basis, the annual rate was unchanged at 7.1% in November, in line with forecasts.
– Elliot Smith
CNBC Pro: Goldman Sachs’ Currie says oil stocks are trading ‘well below’ their long-term trend
Goldman Sachs’ Global Head of Commodities Research Jeff Currie told CNBC that historically, oil stocks have traded at a higher premium to crude oil prices compared to current price levels..
For example, the price gap between SPDR Oil & Gas ETF and ICE Brent Crude futures contract is about $66.60 on Tuesday. That’s significantly lower than the $104 gap recorded at the start of January 2017, according to Koyfin data, as shown in the chart below.
CNBC Pro: As Wall Street slows, these margin growth stocks will be safe bets
Wall Street pros are worried about the outlook for stocks, and are urging investors to remain defensive. These stocks with margin growth can be a safe bet.
Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Zavier Ong
European markets: Here are the opening calls
European markets headed for a higher open on Wednesday as regional markets await the latest inflation data from the euro zone in November.
The UK’s FTSE index is expected to open 23 points higher at 7,536, Germany’s DAX is up 68 points at 14,414, France’s CAC is up 29 points at 6,697 and Italy’s FTSE MIB is up 119 points at 24,597. , according to data from IG.
Data releases include preliminary inflation figures for the single currency area, France and Italy’s final third-quarter gross domestic product readings and Ireland’s unemployment rate for November.
— Holly Elliott
