The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 were hovering around the flat line in early deals, while the Nasdaq slipped 0.2%. — Karen Gilchrist
The Bank of England raises interest rates by 50 basis points, the seventh consecutive increase
The Bank of England voted to raise interest rates by 50 basis points, lower than the 75 basis point increase some analysts had expected. The bank said there had been further evidence since August of “continued strength in domestic inflation” but the recent announcement of caps on household and business energy bills would dampen CPI rises going forward. The pound was slightly up on the day around the $1.13 mark. —Jenny Reed
The UK regulator will investigate the cloud market
Read more here. A final report will be published within 12 months detailing any concerns and proposed recommendations, the regulator said, adding that further action could be taken if it found that competition and innovation were being restricted in any way. Over the next year, Ofcom plans to launch additional investigations into other digital markets, including personal messaging and virtual assistants. — Ryan Brown
Bank stocks are outperforming other industries, but gains are marginal
Banking stocks were the best performers in Europe at midday, with the sector up 1.3% since yesterday. Rising inflation prompts the region’s central banks to raise interest rates, generating additional profits for the region’s banks. Pan-European bank Unicredit led the way with shares jumping 6.4% after Chief Executive Andrea Orcel said the bank would raise its guidance for the year following its third-quarter results in October. Shares in Spanish banking group Banco Sabadell rose 5.2% as the organization entered into talks with Worldline, Nexi and Fiserv over a potential payments deal. Deutsche Bank shares bucked the trend with a 4.9% gain after CFO James bon Moltke said the bank would approach 2023 “with caution” at a financial conference. Finecobank, Commerzbank, Banco BPM Group, Societe Generale and Caixabank rose at least 3%. — Hannah Ward-Glenton
Swiss franc weakens dramatically against dollar, euro and sterling after rate hike
The Swiss franc fell sharply against the US dollar, euro and sterling after the central bank decided to raise interest rates by 75 basis points to 0.5%. At 9:30 am London time, the dollar was 0.9% higher against the Swiss currency, while the euro and sterling were both about 1.4% higher against the franc. Earlier this week, the Swiss franc hit its strongest level against the euro since January 2015 as economists began to speculate on the prospect of a 75 basis point hike. — Hannah Ward-Glenton
Norway’s central bank raises benchmark interest rate to 2.25%
Norway’s central bank raised interest rates to 2.25 percent from 1.75 percent and said it plans to raise rates further later this year. There are “clear signs of a cooling of the economy,” Norges Bank said in a statement, and “the easing of pressures on the economy will help to further contain inflation.” Based on the monetary policy committee’s current assessment, the policy rate will likely be raised further in November, according to the bank. — Hannah Ward-Glenton
Swiss National Bank raises key interest rate to 0.5%
The Swiss National Bank raised its key interest rate to 0.5%, a change that brings an end to an era of negative interest rates in Europe. The 75 basis point increase follows a rise to -0.25% on June 16, which was the first rate hike in 15 years. Before that, the Swiss central bank had kept interest rates steady at -0.75% since 2015. Inflation in Switzerland is currently at its highest rate in three decades, reaching 3.5% last month. — Hannah Ward-Glenton
Italy heads to the polls on Sunday, here’s what to expect
Italy’s voters head to the polls on Sunday in a snap general election that is likely to see a government led by a far-right party in power. If this happens, it will mark a huge political shift for a country already facing ongoing economic and political instability. Polls before September 9 (when a blackout period began) showed a right-wing coalition easily winning a majority of seats in the reduced lower and upper houses of parliament. Atmosphere during Giorgia Meloni’s rally in Cagliari to launch her campaign for the next Italian general election in Cagliari on September 2, 2022 in Cagliari, Italy. Italians go to the polls for the general election on September 25, 2022. Emanuele Perrone | News Getty Images | Getty Images The coalition is led by Giorgia Meloni’s far-right Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy) and includes three other right-wing parties: Lega, under Matteo Salvini, Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia and a smaller coalition partner, Noi Moderati. The Brothers of Italy party stands out from the crowd and is expected to win the largest share of the vote for a single party. It has been seen taking close to 25% of the vote, according to pollster Politiche 2022, well ahead of its closest right-wing ally Lega, which is expected to take around 12% of the vote. Read more about the upcoming elections here — Holly Elliott
Open market: Fortum up 4%, Accor down 6%
Fortum shares rose again early Thursday after the Finnish company agreed to sell a 56 percent stake in German utility Uniper to the German government. The state-owned energy company shifted its stake in a nationalization deal. French hospitality company Accor saw its shares fall 6.3% at the open after JP Morgan cut its rating on the stock from neutral to underweight. The investment bank expressed concerns that the group will not be able to return to its previous level of profitability, saying “our concerns have now outweighed the reasons we like it”. — Hannah Ward-Glenton
Credit Suisse plans to split its investment bank into three: FT
Credit Suisse plans to split its investment bank into three, according to the Financial Times. The Swiss lender wants to have a separate “bad bank” dedicated to risky assets as it recovers from years of scandals and blunders. New proposals suggest Credit Suisse will sell some of its profitable units as part of the radical restructuring, with full plans expected to be announced at the bank’s third-quarter results on October 27, the FT reported. — Hannah Ward-Glenton
Oil prices rise after Fed rate hikes, demand fears remain
Oil prices rose after the Fed’s third straight rate hike. Reuters also reported that Chinese refiners expect the nation to release up to 15 million tonnes worth of oil product export quotas for the rest of the year, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Brent crude futures rose 0.45% to $90.24 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate also rose 0.45% to $83.3 a barrel. — Lee Ying Shan
Fed hike likely to keep Asian risk assets under pressure, JPMorgan says
Asian risk assets, especially export-oriented companies, will remain under pressure in the near term following the Fed’s rate hike, according to Tai Hui, head of APAC market strategy at JPMorgan Asset Management. Tai added that a strong US dollar is likely to continue, but tightening monetary policy in most central banks in Asia – with the exception of China and Japan – will help limit the extent of the Asian currency’s depreciation. The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of peers, rallied sharply and was last at 111.697. — Abigail Off
CNBC Pro: This fund manager is beating the market. Here’s what he’s betting on
Stock markets are falling, but the fund managed by Patrick Armstrong at Plurimi Wealth continues to deliver positive returns. The fund manager has a number of negative positions to counter market volatility. Professional subscribers can read more here. — Zavier Ong
CNBC Pro: Morgan Stanley’s Mike Wilson names the key feature he likes about stocks
Morgan Stanley’s Mike Wilson remains defensive amid persistent market volatility this year. He names the key characteristic he looks for in stocks. Stocks with that trait have “rewarded” this year, with the trend likely to continue until the market turns more bullish, according to Wilson. Professional subscribers can read more here. — Zavier Ong Wed Aug 17 2022 12:29 AM EDT
European markets: Here are the opening invitations
European stocks are expected to open lower on Wednesday as investors react to the latest US inflation data. Britain’s FTSE is expected to open 47 points lower at 7,341, Germany’s DAX 86 points lower at 13,106, France’s CAC 40 down 28 points and Italy’s FTSE MIB 132 points lower at 22,010, according to IG data. Global markets fell after a higher-than-expected U.S. consumer price index report for August showed prices rose 0.1 percent on the month and 8.3 percent on the year in August, the Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday. Labor, defying economists’ expectations that core inflation would ease by 0.1% on a monthly basis. Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, rose 0.6% from July and 6.3% from August 2021. UK inflation data for August is expected and euro zone industrial production for July will be released. — Holly Elliott
