Europe stocks slip after best day in 11 months with eyes on U.S. inflation; LVMH down 8%

Shares of luxury giant LVMH were down nearly 8% at the open after the company reported 14% revenue growth for the first nine months of 2023, down from 20% in the same period in 2022.

Multiple analysts cut target prices on the stock following the report after the market close Tuesday.

All LVMH sectors grew except wine and spirits, which it said suffered from a high basis of comparison and waning demand from the U.S. and CHina.

“After three roaring years, and outstanding years, growth is converging toward numbers that are more in line with historical average,” LVMH chief financial officer Jean-Jacques Guiony told analysts, according to Reuters.

— Jenni Reid

South Korean stocks jumped about 2%, hitting a two-week high on a boost from chip giant Samsung Electronics.

Samsung is expecting a 78% drop in operating profit in the quarter ended September, according to guidance released by the company. The operating profit forecast was slightly higher than analyst expectations. Shares of the company jumped 3.77%.

Counterpart SK Hynix rose about 3%.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

Investors have to contend with an increasingly volatile market — wider geopolitical risks from the Israel-Hamas conflict are adding to the existing uncertainty from rising bond yields and higher rates.

Some analysts recommend buying dividend stocks as a way around it.

For those interested in that strategy, CNBC Pro screened for stocks with safe and high dividend yields.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

A number of winners and losers have emerged from recent developments in the battery industry, according to analysts from Goldman Sachs, as it forecasts a “more rapid decline” in prices.

There are a number of stocks it expects to benefit, including one that it expects to soar.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Amala Balakrishner

An underwater gas and communications pipeline between Finland and Estonia has been damaged, which the Finnish government has attributed to “external activity,” according to an official statement. European gas prices have spiked as a result.

An investigation into what happened has been underway since Sunday, and it remains unknown what specifically caused the damage. “These events have no impact on our security of supply,” Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said in a statement.

The front-month gas price at the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) hub, a European benchmark for natural gas trading, was last seen 11.8% higher, trading at 49.15 euros ($52.14) per megawatt hour.

“The fall in pipeline pressure was quite fast, which would indicate it’s not a minor breach. But the cause of it remains unclear,” a Baltic energy official with knowledge of the situation told Reuters.

The pipeline stretches between Inkoo in Finland and Paldiski in Estonia, across part of the Baltic Sea that stretches into Russian waters.

— Hannah Ward-Glenton

The consumer outlook for where inflation is headed worsened slightly in September, according to a New York Federal Reserve survey released Tuesday.

Expectations for inflation a year from now increased to 3.7%, up 0.1 percentage point from August, the survey showed. On a three-year basis, the outlook rose to 3%, up 0.2 percentage point. That came even though the outlook for gas, medical care and rent all declined.

Also in the survey, the expectation for the cost of education increase decelerated, down to 5.8% from 8.2%, the biggest one-month decline in the survey’s history.

—Jeff Cox

Bank of America has identified five global stocks it says are set to benefit as the use cases of artificial intelligence applications grow significantly.

In an Oct. 3 note titled “End-device AI: Great potential with hidden gems awaits,” the bank said customized and private AI services could soon be brought directly to users’ end devices, revolutionizing smartphones, tablets, cars and more.

The analysts also likened end-device AI to J.A.R.V.I.S., the AI assistant used by Iron Man.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Ganesh Rao