Live updates, Singapore inflation, Australian PMI

Oil prices fell by more than one percent after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, within the framework of what is known as the OPEC+ group, postponed its policy-setting meeting for four days. Oil cartel meetings have been rescheduled from November 25-26 to November 30.

The price of global benchmark Brent crude fell 1.2% to $80.99 a barrel on Thursday, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 1.04% to $76.3 a barrel.

Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates, said the postponement may be due to a dispute between cartel members.

He pointed out that on the one hand, African countries such as Nigeria, Angola and Congo want to see higher production quotas, while other parties such as the UAE have been allowed to increase their production since last January.

“This has left Saudi Arabia in the middle with the burden of balancing supply and demand in the oil market on its shoulders,” Lippo said.

Saudi Arabia Oil exports in September It decreased by 17.1% year on year.

-Li Ying Shan

Shares of Chinese technology giant Alibaba were little changed in Hong Kong after news that its founder Jack Ma postponed plans to reduce his stake in the Chinese e-commerce giant after the share price fell.

The company’s Hong Kong-listed shares fell 0.26% compared to its last close of HK$76.85 ($9.86) on Wednesday.

According to an internal memo seen by CNBC, Alibaba’s chief people officer, Jin Jiang, told employees that Ma had not sold any shares, and that Alibaba shares were currently trading at less than the company’s actual value, citing this as a reason why Ma had not sold any shares. He cut his share.

Alibaba’s regulatory filings on November 16 revealed that Ma is looking to sell 10 million shares worth about $870 million.

Read the full story here.

— Lim Hui Ji, Arjun Kharpal

Business activity in Australia It shrank at its fastest pace in 27 monthsaccording to flash estimates from Judo Bank.

The country’s composite PMI came in at 46.4, representing a faster contraction compared to the 47.6 seen in October. The manufacturing PMI fell to 47.7, the lowest level in 42 months, while the services PMI reached a 26-month low of 46.3.

The bank’s report noted that the decline was mainly due to “new sharp contractions in business in both the manufacturing and services sectors.”

This came amid widespread news about deteriorating economic conditions and rising interest rates, which negatively affects budgets.

– Lim Hui Ji

Asian stock markets may have had a weak year, but excessive liquidity in the region’s companies represents a hidden opportunity for investors, according to Jefferies.

“When a company hoards cash on its balance sheet, its stock valuations look much more expensive than they should be, without excess cash,” the investment bank analysts wrote.

Jefferies examined Asian companies with “significant prior cash value and strong fundamentals,” which it said were “good candidates” for buybacks and dividends.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

– Amala Balakrishner

Stocks rise on hopes that the Federal Reserve has finished its tightening campaign. However, one market watcher warned investors to keep an eye on earnings as the economy began to show signs of slowing.

“At some point, you know, of course, the slowdown becomes a victim of its own success, so to speak,” Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Cresset Capital, said Wednesday on CNBC’s Power Lunch. The investor pointed to same-store sales growth that has kept pace with inflation over the past 12 months.

“What that really means is that there is no volume growth and all of the revenue increases that a lot of retailers and other businesses have enjoyed over the last 12 months have just been pricing power,” Ablin added. “Well, if prices decline now, and we see that downward trend, that could start to hurt profits and margins.”

The chief investment officer recommended investors stick to high-quality growth companies with healthy and growing profits. He favors names like medical device maker Medtronic, water company Ecolab, and pharmaceutical company AbbVie.

– Sarah Maine

One part of artificial intelligence will have an increasing role to play, according to Morgan Stanley.

This trend could help save costs, reduce latency (or delay time), among other benefits, Morgan Stanley said.

It has identified six companies that are set to be the main beneficiaries of this trend and are likely to outperform in 2024 and 2025.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

-Weezin Tan

Energy stocks underperformed the S&P 500 on Wednesday.

The sector fell by 0.4%, making it the worst performer among the 11 sectors that make up the broad index. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 rose about 0.3%.

EOG Resources and Baker Hughes led the sector down more than 1% each. Occidental Petroleum and Halliburton were the second worst performing stocks, as their shares fell by about 0.9%.

Two out of every three stocks in the energy sector were trading lower. On the other hand, Valero Energy was the best performer in the sector, rising 1.7% during the session.

-Alex Haring

US crude prices fell on Wednesday after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries postponed a key meeting on production cuts.

The West Texas Intermediate January contract fell 67 cents, or 0.86%, to settle at $77.10 a barrel, while the January Brent contract fell 49 cents, or 0.59%, to settle at $81.96 a barrel.

OPEC postponed the energy ministers’ meeting until next Thursday. The organization did not provide a reason, but delegates told Bloomberg that Saudi Arabia and its allies are having difficulty convincing Angola and Nigeria to accept lower production targets.

–Spencer Kimball

Initial jobless claims for the week ending November 18 came to 209,000, down 24,000 from the previous week. This print is also 20,000 below the consensus estimate from the Dow Jones.

This data is another indication that the US economy is resilient despite rising interest rates.

-Fred Imbert