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UK inflation dips to 3.9%
Christmas lights along Regent Street in London, UK, on Monday, Dec. 18, 2023. The Office for National Statistics are due to release the latest UK retail sales figures on Friday. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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U.K. inflation fell more sharply than expected in November, dipping to 3.9% from 4.6% in October, official data showed Wednesday.
The year-on-year rise in the consumer price index was the lowest since September 2021 and well below the 4.4% expected by economists, adding pressure on the Bank of England to cut rates in 2024.
Last week, the central bank kept its main interest rate unchanged at 5.25% and said monetary policy is “likely to need to be restrictive for an extended period of time.”
— Karen Gilchrist
European markets open higher
European markets opened higher Wednesday.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 rose 0.5% in early deals, with almost all sectors trading in positive territory. Telecom stocks led gains, rising 0.9%, while tech stocks sank marginally below the flatline.
— Karen Gilchrist
CNBC Pro: Want to play higher oil prices? Strategist names a favorite stock — and analysts give it 33% upside
It hasn’t been a good year for energy stocks — the only sector left out of November’s stock market rally.
And its outlook for 2024 looks similarly underwhelming: the International Energy Agency expects the slowdown to continue next year.
But one portfolio specialist is bullish on the sector’s long-term prospects.
“We’ve been more constructive on energy than we were in the last year,” Rahul Ghosh, equity portfolio specialist at investment firm T. Rowe Price told CNBC Pro, naming one under-the-radar stock to play the theme.
— Amala Balakrishner
European markets: Here are the opening calls
European markets are set to open higher Wednesday.
The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 20 points higher at 7,661, Germany’s DAX up 23 points at 16,671, France’s CAC up 22 points at 7,599 and Italy’s FTSE MIB up 63 points at 30,605, according to data from IG.
U.K. inflation data for November is due.
— Holly Ellyatt
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