China leads declines among Asian markets as investors await the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision

Argentina has sharply devalued its currency and cut energy and transportation subsidies as part of economic shock measures that new Economy Minister Luis Caputo said were aimed at fixing the country’s worst crisis in decades.

The value of the peso fell by about 56% to 800 pesos to the dollar, from 366.5 before the move took effect. The Argentine blue dollar – a reference to cash dollars that are bought and sold informally – was trading at 1,050 to the dollar.

Caputo said the plan is necessary to reduce the fiscal deficit and bring down inflation, which has exceeded triple digits.

Argentina’s annual inflation rate reached 143% in October. The country also faces a fiscal deficit, as well as a $45 billion debt to the International Monetary Fund.

– News agency

South Korea’s unemployment rate has risen to its highest level since July, according to data released by the government.

South Korea’s unemployment rate rose to 2.8% on a seasonally adjusted basis last month, higher than 2.5% in October.

The data also showed that the country’s economy added 277,000 fewer jobs in November, compared to 346,000 additional jobs in the previous month.

South Korea’s unemployment rate reached a record low of 2.4% in August.

– Shreyashi Sanyal

Morgan Stanley advised its clients to get ahead of the next market cycle by buying stocks of high-quality growth companies in Asia and emerging markets.

“We believe the market is now transitioning into a new cycle that will favor growth over value,” Wall Street bank strategists, including Gilbert Wong, said in a note to clients on December 11. A decline in qualitative growth stocks in [Asia Pacific region excluding Japan, and EM]”.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more about Morgan Stanley’s stock picks here.

-Ganesh Rao

Consumer prices in India rose at the fastest pace in three months in November as food prices rose, according to government data released on Tuesday.

The annual retail inflation rate rose in November to 5.55%, which remains lower than the Reuters poll forecast of 5.7%. The reading was higher than the 4.87% high in October.

Food prices, which make up more than half of the consumer price reading, rose 8.7% last month from 6.61% in October.

Inflation remains above the Reserve Bank of India’s target of 4% for this year.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept its key repo rate steady at 6.5% at its last monetary policy meeting of the year last Friday, and said it expects the country to grow at a rate of 7% in 2023.

– Shreyashi Sanyal

The biotech sector is finally gaining ground after a tough 2022 – and one under-the-radar stock stands out for fund manager Hugh Dive.

Calling it a “well-managed, large and very profitable company”, Dive – who is chief investment officer at Australian-headquartered Atlas Asset Management – is not in favor of the stock.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

– Amala Balakrishner

The Consumer Price Index rose 0.1% in November compared to the previous month. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected the CPI to remain flat on a monthly basis. On an annual basis, printing increased by 3.1%, in line with expectations.

Excluding energy and food, the CPI rose 0.3% month-on-month and 4% year-on-year – also in line with expectations.

-Fred Imbert

Respondents to a recent CNBC Fed poll expect the central bank to start cutting interest rates in the middle of next year and are more optimistic about the prospect of a soft landing.

More than half of the 35 economists, strategists and analysts polled by CNBC expect June to be the first month of Fed cuts, while 69% expect another cut in July. Participants’ average forecast calls for interest rates to be cut by about 85 basis points in 2024.

Meanwhile, soft landing expectations also rose in the December survey compared to the previous month. Survey respondents increased the probability of a soft landing to 47%, up 1 basis point from November, while reducing the probability of a recession in 2024 by 8 basis points to 41%.

– Brian Evans

All three major indexes touched their 52-week intraday highs during Tuesday’s trading session.

The Nasdaq Composite rose to 14,474.02, its highest intraday level since April 5, 2022, when it reached 14,500.29.

The S&P 500 reached its highest intraday level since March 29, 2022, at 4,630.49. At a recent intraday high, the S&P 500 reached 4,637.30.

The 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average hit 36,531.97, its highest intraday level since Jan. 5, 2022, when it traded at 36,952.65.

— Hakyung Kim

US crude oil prices fell more than 3% on Tuesday amid traders’ concerns that the Federal Reserve has not yet been able to control inflation.

The January West Texas Intermediate contract lost $2.41, or 3.38%, to trade at $68.91 per barrel, while the February Brent crude contract fell $2.33, or 3.06%, to trade at $73.70 per barrel.

US inflation rose 0.1% in November after remaining unchanged in October. Phil Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures Group, said traders are concerned that the Fed does not have inflation under control and will have to keep its foot on the accelerator when it comes to interest rates.

Flynn said that confidence in the oil market was shattered after a series of losses that lasted seven weeks.

Record oil production in the United States is colliding with a weak economy in China, raising concerns that OPEC+ will not be able to stabilize crude oil prices with a new round of cuts scheduled for the first quarter.

-Spencer Kimball