Asian markets were mixed ahead of US inflation data

India’s central bank kept its policy repo rate for the third consecutive meeting at 6.5%, in line with forecasts of economists polled by Reuters.

The Reserve Bank of India indicated that core inflation is expected to pick up in July and August, led by vegetable prices after rebounding to 4.81% in June.

The RBI said the vegetable shock could quickly reverse, but potential El Niño weather conditions along with global food prices need to be watched closely.

The central bank said it was ready to act “if the situation requires it”. He also reiterated his goal of bringing inflation down to its 4% target, as well as stabilizing inflation expectations.

– Lim Hwi Ji

Japan wholesale rate of inflation It slowed for the seventh consecutive month to 3.6%, down from June’s revised figure of 4.3%.

Wholesale inflation is measured through the Firms Goods Price Index, which tracks the prices firms charge each other for goods and services.

The prices of ceramic, stone and clay products witnessed the largest increase in July with an increase of 15.2% year-on-year, while the prices of wood and wood products declined, recording a decrease of 23.1% year-on-year.

– Lim Hwi Ji

Treasury yields and stocks have more upside — and annuities are yielding more returns than ever before, according to some Wall Street investors.

If you are an investor, and especially if he is about to retire or of retirement age, what is the best source of income?

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

– Wizen tan

Bank of America has revealed its year-end price target for the Nifty Index in India.

The Wall Street bank said the change in expectations from the US economic team was the main driver behind the Indian stock market outlook.

In addition, Morgan Stanley also revealed its “top pick” in the Indian banking sector, giving the stock a 40% rally.

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– Ganesh Rao

Markets are expecting a weaker-than-expected CPI reading, according to Bob Dole, chief investment officer or CrossMark Global Investments.

“That’s the expectation,” he said of a great read of CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.” “It would be a disappointment if it went the other way.”

– Alex Haring

The September WTI contract touched $84.11 a barrel early Wednesday, the highest level since mid-November 2022, while the global benchmark Brent crude in October rose to $87.19, or the highest level since mid-April.

Meanwhile, natural gas contracts for September were at $2.875 per thousand cubic feet, the highest level since early March. US natural gas production and consumption will reach an all-time high in 2023, The Energy Information Administration said Tuesday, according to a Reuters report.

In reaction, the energy sector SPDR ETF jumped more than 2% early Wednesday, led in part by EQT, Coterra, SLB and Diamondback.

Strategas Research technical analyst Chris Fearon told clients in a report early Wednesday that SLB had recently hit a “new cycle high,” and that ABA Corp., formerly Apache, is on the “stop list.”

“The constant supply that dominated the oil market for most of the past year has evolved into a hidden supply over recent weeks, also reflected in the renewed strength of energy stocks,” Veron wrote. “Since printing CPI of 3.00% on July 12, Energy has carried the lead, outperforming the next best sector (financials) by more than 300 basis points.”

– Scott Schneiber, Gina Francola, Michael Blum

Salesforce and a group of financial stocks were among the worst performing members of the Dow Jones index.

Software stock was the worst performer, down nearly 3%. Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and American Express were also among the biggest losers, all down more than 1%.

More than two-thirds of the thirty members were trading down. Dow, Inc. stock was The best performer on average, up nearly 1%.

The index as a whole fell by 0.6%.

– Alex Haring

More than nine out of 10 S&P 500 companies released their quarterly financial statements this corporate earnings season as of Wednesday morning. Many of them were surprisingly powerful.

According to data from FactSet, about four-fifths of the companies in the broad index that have already reported have beat Wall Street analysts’ median forecasts.

While most of this earnings season is in the rear view, some of the big-name companies haven’t filed a report yet. One example: Disney is expected after the bell.

– Alex Haring