Stocks, news, data and earnings

Shares of Royal Mail owner International Distribution Services jumped more than 9% by early afternoon after Bank of America upgraded the stock to “buy” from “neutral” on the back of a promising recovery and union agreement.

European markets gave up their cautious morning gains by noon to hover just below the flat line.

The European Stoxx 600 index fell by 0.1%, with telecom stocks falling by 0.7% to lead the losses, while media stocks rose by 0.5%.

Ordinary wages in the UK rose at an annual rate of 7.3% in November, down from 7.8% the previous month, welcome news for the Bank of England ahead of its monetary policy decision on Thursday.

Job vacancies fell again in the three months to the end of November and are now 27% below their peak, although they remain above pre-pandemic levels, while the unemployment rate has remained stable at 4.2%.

Stuart Cole, chief macro economist at Equiti Capital, said the latest round of data was good news for the central bank in its battle to sustainably return inflation to its 2% target, but the labor market was still “too strong overall to suggest… Monetary policy will continue. The policy will start easing anytime soon.”

“With growth figures to be published tomorrow expected to show output falling 0.1% in October and core annual CPI remaining nearly three times above target, impacts on monetary policy continue to come from opposite directions,” Cole said in an email. .

“Overall, the Bank of England at this week’s meeting is likely to be left in a stalemate, forced to continue resisting pressure to cut interest rates to support the slowing economy and choosing instead to maintain monetary policy as it struggles to get CPI and wage growth back under control. “.

-Elliot Smith

Carl Zeiss Meditec shares rose more than 8% in early trading after the German medical technology company beat annual revenue expectations and provided a more positive outlook for 2023/24 than the market had expected.

At the bottom of the Stoxx 600 index, British online investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown fell more than 6% after the UK Financial Conduct Authority announced it had written to 42 firms warning about potential interference with customer fees.

-Elliot Smith

European stocks had a weak start to Tuesday’s session.

The European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.1% in early trading, with household goods increasing 0.6% to lead gains while telecommunications stocks fell 0.9%.

-Elliot Smith

The S&P 500 hit a new 2023 high last week, surpassing the 4,600 level and continuing its rally since early November. The main question for investors now is whether this momentum can be maintained in the future.

In addition to using historical data, HSBC used AI to analyze the language used in its most recent quarterly earnings calls to predict stock market performance.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

-Ganesh Rao

Energy stocks have been lagging for most of this year, and were the only sector not to rally in November’s hot rally — but some analysts remain bullish.

In fact, Louis Navellier, chairman and founder of Navellier & Associates, said energy is his “highest conviction” right now.

He and Citi named their favorite stocks.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

-Weezin Tan

European markets are scheduled to open higher on Tuesday.

The UK’s FTSE 100 is expected to open 9 points higher at 7,560, Germany’s DAX is up 32 points at 16,845, France’s CAC is up 14 points at 7,567, and Italy’s FTSE MIB is up 88 points at 30,493, according to data from IG.

Germany’s ZEW economic outlook index is scheduled for December.

– Holly Eliatt