TheChek News Flow

Asian stocks swung between small gains and losses after a nine-day rally lifted equities to a record, as investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate decision. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index edged up 0.1%, while Chinese technology stocks listed in Hong Kong jumped to their highest level in four years as optimism over artificial intelligence fueled demand. Baidu Inc. surged as much as 16% after a stock upgrade. Gold held recent gains that saw it rise above the $3,700-an-ounce level for the first time, buoyed by a weaker dollar. A gauge of the currency hovered around levels last seen in March 2022. In Japan, a 20-year government bond auction drew the strongest demand since 2020 as higher yields lured investors despite domestic political uncertainty. A solid reading on US retail sales Tuesday did little to sway markets, with attention firmly on the Fed meeting. Investors are looking for clues on the path of interest rates that will shape the outlook in the months ahead, with some bond traders stepping up options wagers that the central bank will deliver at least one half-point cut. In Asia, Baidu rose after Arete Research upgraded the stock to buy from sell saying the search engine operator’s new in-house chip venture has the potential to more than offset the struggling online advertising business. Alibaba shares advanced as much as 4% after Goldman Sachs Inc. raised the company’s price target for the Chinese technology firm and lifted its estimated value of the company’s cloud business, citing the latest AI models. In other corners of the market, Treasuries held their gains with the yield on two-year notes holding at 3.51%. Oil steadied after a three-day gain as traders assessed the fallout from Ukrainian attacks on Russian crude infrastructure. Meanwhile, money markets are fully pricing in a quarter-point Fed reduction, and a series of interest-rate cuts over the next year. An outlook echoing that view would be an encouraging sign for stock bulls, who have largely banked on a gradual easing path that keeps the economy from sliding into a recession. Investors will look for changes in the latest quarterly rates projections, known as the dot plot, and pore over Chair Jerome Powell’s remarks later. The “real interest” will lie in how many members join Stephen Miran in dissenting in favor of a 50-basis-point cut, wrote Tony Sycamore, a market strategist at IG Australia Pte. US After Hours NFE +35% jumps following supply deal with Puerto Rico; AIR +5.3% higher on Cebu Pacific deal; JPM +0.1% increases dividend.

Macro :

- Citadel Securities’ Rubner Sees Stocks Rallying After Brief Jolt
- Hedge Fund Qube Starts Charging Some Staff 35% Incentive Fees

- Strategists’ S&P 500 Index Estimates for Year-End 2025 (Table)

- Politicizing Fed Would be ‘Huge Mistake’: KKR’s Kravis to Echos

Keep an eye on :

- BABA US : Alibaba Shares Rise After Goldman Lifts Target on Cloud Growth

- BABA US : Alibaba’s AI Chip Effort Quickens With Big Client China Unicom

- AAL LN : Anglo, Teck Need to Prove More Benefits to Canada, Minister Says

- BIDUS US : 9888 HK : *BAIDU SHARES JUMP 14% IN HK ON OPTIMISM OVER CHIP VENTURE
- BEI GY : Beiersdorf Holder Offers About 5m Shares, Terms Show

- CYTK US : Cytokinetics Said to Offer Up to 2.25% Coupon on Convertible

- CYTK US : Cytokinetics Still Sees FDA Decision on Heart Drug in Late Dec.

- DEC LN : Diversified Energy Offering by Holders Prices at $13.75/Share

- FLATB SS : Flat Capital Plans to Integrate Double Sunday at SEK9.5b Value

- HEX NO : Hexagon Composites Offering of 42m Shares Prices at NOK14/Share

- INTC US : Abu Dhabi’s MGX Backs Intel Spinoff Altera

- MBTN SW : Meyer Burger Says no ‘Realistic Chance’ of Saving Entire Group

- ML FP : Michelin August Car and Light Truck Original Equipment Tires -2%

- NESN SW : *NESTLÉ CHAIRMAN PAUL BULCKE TO STEP DOWN EARLIER THAN PLANNED

- NEXT NO : Next Biometrics Group Offering Prices at NOK4.25/Share

- NIO US : NIO Shares Rise as UBS Upgrades on Consumer Confidence

- NDX1 GY : Nordex Gets 112 MW Wind Project Order in Ecuador

- NOVOB DC : Novo Also Gets FDA Warning for Oprah Weight Loss Drug Video

- NVDA US : US Panel Probes Huawei Affiliate’s Presence on Nvidia Campus

- ORCL US : TikTok Buyers to Include Oracle, Silver Lake and Andreessen

- PEB US : Pebblebrook Said to Offer Up to 2% Coupon on $350M Convertible

- PNL NA : PostNL Targets Normalized Ebit Above €175M For 2028

- 1913 HK : Prada : +2.69%

- PRX NA : Prosus Doubles Stake in India’s Urban Ahead of $1.8 Billion IPO

- RNO FP : Russia Refuses to Register Renault’s Trademark, RIA Novosti Says

- SAN FP : Sanofi’s Brivekimig Gets Positive Results in Phase 2a Study

- Space X : SpaceX Is Working With Chip Makers for Starlink Cell Service

- StubHub IPO : Ticket Platform StubHub Raises $800 Million in Midrange IPO

- SYENS BB : Syensqo Names Radossich CEO From 2026, Kadri to Step Down

- UCB BB : UCB’s Bimzelx New Data in HS Shows Sustained Disease Control

- ULVR LN : Ben & Jerry’s Co-Founder Jerry Greenfield Quits: FT

- Vrisure IPO : Verisure Seeks to Raise About €3.1b Proceeds in Stockholm IPO

- VOW GY : Handelsblatt: Car manufacturer: Audi faces billions in tariffs

- WaterBridge IPO : WaterBridge Upsized IPO Shares Priced at $20 Each