Hong Kong movers: Alibaba, JD.com, Tencent rise at Open
Hong Kong-listed Chinese tech stocks emerged in early Asian trade as the broader Hang Seng index briefly rose more than 6%.
Tech giants Alibaba and JD.com are up 7.94% and 10%, respectively. Tencent gained 9.16% and Meituan 12.26%.
— Lee Ying Shan
Currency check: Japanese yen, Chinese yuan higher
The Japanese yen and Chinese yuan traded around stronger levels after the US dollar index fell more than 1% overnight on a weaker-than-expected inflation report.
The yen stood at 141.63 against the greenback and hovered around its strongest levels in two months before slipping above 150 in October.
The onshore yuan was around 7.18, also trading near its strongest level against the dollar in almost a month.
– Jihye Lee
Asia Pacific indices open after US inflation report
CNBC Pro: Bitcoin will continue to fall, fund manager says – until he uses a catalyst
Bitcoin is down 75% from its all-time high and a cryptocurrency exchange is on the verge of bankruptcy. In such an environment, a bond fund manager reveals the only thing it takes for prices to rise.
Cross Border Capital’s Michael Howell also said that the lack of a catalyst means there is an increased risk that investors will jump in “a little too early”.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Ganesh Rao
CPI rises less than expected
The US CPI – a broad measure of inflation – rose 0.4% mom in October. Year-over-year, the CPI rose 7.7%.
Economists polled by Dow Jones expected monthly growth of 0.6% and annual increase of 7.9%.
Excluding fluctuating food and energy costs, core CPI rose 0.3% for the month and 6.3% for the year, compared to estimates of 0.5% and 6.5%, respectively.
– Jeff Cox
Dollar Index on track for worst day since December 2015
The US dollar slipped against a basket of other currencies on Thursday as investors cheered October’s CPI report, which came in weaker than expected and signaled that inflation may have peaked.
The Dollar Index is down 2%, on track for its worst daily performance since December 4, 2015. If the index falls more than 2.1%, it will hit levels not seen since 2009.
This week, the dollar index is down 2.3% and is on course for its worst week since March 2020.
– Carmen Reinicke
Biden to raise concerns about Xi’s relationship with Putin ahead of the G-20 summit
The US government has introduced some of its broadest export controls aimed at cutting off advanced semiconductors from China. Analysts said the move could shake China’s domestic chip industry.
Almond Ngan | AFP | Getty Images
President Joe Biden is expected to discuss Russia’s war in Ukraine in a face-to-face meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping next week.
The meeting between the two leaders, the first since Biden’s ascension to the US presidency, will take place ahead of the G-20 summit in Bali, Indonesia.
“I think the president will be honest and direct with President Xi about how we view the situation in Ukraine with Russia’s war of aggression,” a senior Biden administration official told reporters on a call.
“This is an issue that the President and President Xi have discussed several times. They talked about it extensively in their video call in March and then spoke about it again in July, so it’s part of an ongoing conversation between them,” added the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
– Amanda Macias