Live updates, Reuters Tankan, Australian GDP

Japan’s Nikkei 225 led gains in Asia, mainly supported by gains in business services and utilities stocks.

The index rose 1.9 percent on Wednesday, with the shares of international printing company Toppan Holdings, the largest gainer, rising 10.67 percent.

Electric utility company Tokyo Electric Power, chip equipment supplier Lasertec and conglomerate Sony Group were among other applicants.

Business sentiment improved at major Japanese companies in December, according to the monthly Reuters Tankan survey.

“Sentiment improved for the second month in a row as the auto sector continues to recover from last year’s semiconductor shortage and supply chain issues,” Reuters reported.

The Manufacturer Confidence Index stood at +12, compared to +6 in November. Separately, the survey also showed that the services sector index stood at +26, down from +27 in November.

The positive number indicates that the number of optimists outnumbers the number of pessimists in the sector, and vice versa.

The Bank of Japan’s quarterly Tankan survey is scheduled to be released on December 13.

– Lim Hui Ji

Goldman Sachs has revealed its ‘condemnation list’ of its top stock picks in Europe for December – highlighting one stock in particular for its significant upside potential.

Wall Street bank analysts see 130% upside potential for the stock over the next 12 months as the company makes massive infrastructure investments that will improve sustainable free cash flow.

Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan are also bullish on the same stock.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

-Ganesh Rao

Strategists at JPMorgan are making a bold call for European stock market performance next year after calling it right in 2023.

These forecasts come from the same team of strategists who accurately forecast the performance of the MSCI Eurozone index this year. They expected the index to rise 9.1% to close at 256 points by the end of December 2023 based on the local currency. The index currently stands at 266 points.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more about their 2024 predictions here.

-Ganesh Rao

A rise in Apple shares helped trim losses for the Dow Jones index in Tuesday’s session, confirming the rise in technology company names.

The average blue-chip stock fell about 0.2%, dragged down by declines of more than 2% at Goldman Sachs and 3% at Procter & Gamble. But a nearly 2% jump in Apple — the top performer in the Dow Jones — helped cushion the 30-stock index’s losses.

The move comes as technology as a whole outperformed on Tuesday. In fact, the highly technical Nasdaq Composite is the only major index poised for gains, as of 3:30 PM ET.

In a similar vein, ICT Services – known for its exposure to technology – were two of only three of the 11 sectors in the S&P 500 on track to end the session higher. (Consumer Estimates was the other sector that was scheduled to close on a positive note.)

Aside from Apple, the Dow Jones was supported by more than 1% advances in Verizon and Merck.

-Alex Haring

Oil prices fell again on Tuesday despite efforts by OPEC+ to convince traders that production cuts agreed to last week will be implemented.

The January West Texas Intermediate contract fell 72 cents, or 0.99%, to settle at $72.32 a barrel, while the February Brent crude contract fell 83 cents, or 1.06%, to settle at $77.20 a barrel.

Traders doubt that OPEC+ will deliver on the promised supply cuts.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that OPEC+ is ready to deepen supply cuts in the first quarter of 2024 if necessary, according to the Russian TASS news agency.

Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman told Bloomberg on Monday that the group would deliver on promised cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day and could extend them beyond the first quarter if necessary.

-Spencer Kimball

Nio stock rose more than 4% as investors cheered the electric automaker’s narrow losses during the third quarter.

The Chinese company reported a loss of 2.67 yuan per share, less than the 2.91 yuan decline expected by analysts surveyed by LSEG. It also represents a decline from the second-quarter loss of 3.7 yuan per share.

This was overshadowed by revenue, which fell short of analysts’ expectations in the third quarter. Guidance on key financial action was also weak.

-Alex Haring, Arjun Kharpal

Job openings in October fell to the lowest level since 2021, according to Labor Department data released Tuesday.

The Job Opportunities and Labor Turnover survey showed 8.7 million jobs in October, below economists’ consensus forecast of 9.4 million, according to the Dow Jones Index. It also represents the lowest number of openings since March 2021.

This data is welcome news for investors hoping for evidence that previous interest rate increases had the Fed’s intended effect on the economy. Stocks rose after the data, but the Dow Jones remained down more than 100 points.

-Alex Haring, Jeff Cox