Fed delivers milestone 50bps rate cut

The S&P and Nasdaq attain fresh record highs after the Fed cuts rates for a second consecutive time. However, Fed chair Jerome Powell’s press conference was dominated by questions about his position at the central bank following the re-election of President Donald Trump. Trump rewards his campaign manager Susie Wiles with the position of chief-of-staff, the first key appointment to his White House team. Outgoing President Joe Biden promises to ensure a smooth transition of power. In the UK, the Bank of England cuts rates by 25bps while hiking the inflation forecast following Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ new budget. Governor Andrew Bailey says developments Stateside are being closely monitored. Following the collapse of the German coalition government, Chancellor Olaf Scholz is under pressure to hold snap elections. Chairman of the Supervisory Board at Siemens Energy Joe Kaeser tells CNBC that the German economy is crying out for political stability.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wall Street closes at record highs following Donald Trump’s historic win to become the 47th U.S. President. The Dow rallies by 1,500 points thanks to bank stocks after Democratic nominee Kamala Harris concedes the election. In Germany the fragile governing ‘traffic light’ coalition collapses as Chancellor Olaf Scholz fires Finance Minister Christian Lindner over major economic policy disagreements. The move paves the way for a January confidence vote and a likely snap election in March. The race for the U.S. House of Representatives’ majority remains finely poised. The GOP are just nine seats short of a clean sweep of Congressional power. And investors await rate decisions from the Fed, BoE, Riksbank and Norges Bank all due later today.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris make their final pitches to the U.S. electorate with rallies in the key battleground states of North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Michigan. Wall Street braces itself with global stocks flat while yields slip and the greenback wavers ahead of today’s poll. Boeing workers end their seven-week strike after accepting an improved pay deal. In energy news, Saudi Aramco sees a 15 per cent dip in the third quarter due to weak prices and decreased refining markets. The oil giant does, however, still top expectations and maintains its $31bn dividend. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The dollar dips with futures relatively flat as a surprise poll puts Kamala Harris ahead in the Republican-leading state of Iowa. National polling still places both candidates neck-and-neck. Berkshire Hathaway continues to dial down its stakes in Apple and BofA, boosting its cash pile to $325bn. The German ruling coalition is in disarray after finance minister Christian Lindner’s economic manifesto causes major rifts with coalition partners, prompting Chancellor Olaf Scholz to summon talks late last night. Oil surges on the news that Opec+ nations agree to delay output hikes by a month. We hear from TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné who says industry margins are under pressure.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Apple shares dip following cautious guidance ahead of Christmas. The company also reveals little about demand for its new iPhone 16. Amazon posts a beat on quarterly earnings causing shares to pop in extended trade. The e-commerce giant’s CEO Andy Jassy pledges to significantly ramp up spending on the company’s A.I. technologies. On Wall Street the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq suffer their worst day in more than a month following disappointing Big Tech results. And in the UK, the gilt sell-off increases and sterling endures a volatile session as investors fear Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ budget could force inflation back up while piling up debt.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Microsoft enjoys an A.I. boom but there are concerns over capex and a slowing cloud division which pulls the share price lower in extended trade. Meta posts a top and bottom line beat but shares also fall in after-hours trade as investors remain anxious over greater A.I. infrastructure expenditure at the social media giant. BNP Paribas notches a near-six per cent quarterly rise in net income and confirms its forecast. CFO Lars Machenil tells CNBC he remains bullish about the trend. There’s a surprise expansion in Chinese manufacturing activity in October as recent stimulus measures help to end five consecutive months of contraction. And in the UK, investors digest the first Labour budget in 15 years following one of the largest increases in taxation, spending and borrowing on record.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

UBS posts $1.4bn in Q3 net profit as the lender accelerated the integration of former rival Credit Suisse. Standard Chartered almost doubles its quarterly pre-tax profit which prompts the London-based bank to hike guidance and pledges to lift its dividend payout. Meanwhile in the U.S., Alphabet’s cloud arm delivers stellar results which help push the company’s annual revenues up by 15 per cent in the third quarter, this despite a slowdown in its search and YouTube services. In the UK, gilt yields hit a post-election high ahead of Labour’s much anticipated first budget in 15 years.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Novartis posts Q3 earnings with 10 per cent sales growth and 20 per cent core income growth. The drug maker has also hiked its FY guidance. HSBC sees Q3 profits jump by 10 per cent. The lender has also launched a $3bn buyback scheme on the back of slower-than-expected rate cuts. Wall Street begins the week in the green ahead of key inflation data and earnings from the tech sector. In autos news, Volkswagen is warning of unprecedented plant closures and mass lay-offs as the German giant struggles against Chinese rivals and poor demand for EVs.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The ruling LDP in Japan loses its parliamentary majority in its worst defeat more than a decade. The yen slumps to a three-month low as a result. We hear from German finance minister Christian Lindner at the IMF annual meeting in Washington who says Europe must be prepared for a second Trump administration. Moody’s cuts its forecast for France to negative for worse-than-expected fiscal deterioration. The credit ratings agency also cast doubt over the current government’s ability to tackle wider deficits. And in the U.S., campaigning enters its final full week with both candidates targeting purple swing states. In energy news, Brent and WTI are both sharply down after IDF airstrikes avoided key Iranian oil installations. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Tesla shares rocket by 21.9 percent – the company’s largest one-day gain in more than a decade – as U.S. markets hope to avoid their first negative week in six. The IMF warns that the growth gap between the EU and U.S. will only widen further. We hear from ECB board member and governor of the National Bank of Belgium, Pierre Wunsch, who says he would consider a 50 basis point rate cut should data move in the wrong direction. Japanese voters head to the polls this weekend with the ruling LDP facing the prospect of a heavy defeat and the first possible loss of parliamentary majority since 2012. And in the U.S. a court blocks a merger between Coach owner Tapestry and the owner of Michael Kors, Capri Holdings.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.