European stocks higher as markets digest Fed minutes; Sage Group up 10.5%

European stocks had a cautiously upbeat start Wednesday, with the regional Stoxx 600 index 0.3% higher at 8:38 a.m. London time after two flat sessions.

All sectors were in the green as France’s CAC 40 index gained 0.42% and Germany’s DAX rose 0.26%.

German engineering and steel production group Thyssenkrupp on Wednesday reported a net loss of 2 billion euros ($2.18 billion) for the 2022-23 fiscal year, down from net income of 1.2 billion euros, as it said it faced impairment losses on assets of 2.1 billion euros at its Steel Europe division.

Order intake fell to 37.1 billion euros from 44.3 billion euros.

The company blamed overall losses on a “market-related decline in operating performance,” while it said steel suffered from a higher cost of capital and structural industry changes.

Shares nevertheless opened 3% higher.

U.K. Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt will deliver his Autumn Statement budget shortly after midday London time, amid pressure from within the ruling Conservative Party to implement tax cuts as the country’s economy stagnates.

Hunt is expected to announce measures to attract business investment and remove barriers to large scale infrastructure projects, and is under pressure from the right of his party to enact tax cuts.

Read CNBC’s live blog here.

— Elliot Smith

Investment bank UBS has identified and named the stocks set to benefit from the growth of next-generation ‘solid-state’ battery technology electric vehicles.

Solid-state batteries are seen as a potential breakthrough technology because they can store more energy than lithium-ion batteries and charge faster. While researchers have known about the technology for decades, commercialization on a large scale has not yet been possible.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more about the UBS analyst stock picks here.

— Ganesh Rao

Oil prices were largely unchanged Tuesday after rallying the past two sessions as traders await a meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries later this week.

The Brent crude contract for January rose 13 cents, or .16%, to settle at $82.45 a barrel Tuesday, while the West Texas Intermediate contract for January fell 6 cents, or .08%, to settle at $77.77 a barrel.

OPEC and its allies, OPEC+, will meet Sunday amid speculation that the group could implement deeper production cuts as oil prices have dropped significantly since September amid demand concerns.

A senior official at the International Energy Agency told Reuters Tuesday that global oil market will see a slight supply surplus in 2024 even if OPEC+ countries extend their current production cuts into next year.

— Spencer Kimball

Explosive growth of Temu, the U.S. arm of Chinese e-commerce giant Pinduoduo, could spell trouble for some major retailers, according to Bank of America.

Consumers have welcomed Temu’s rapid growth, but competitors are likely to lose market share and could see smaller profits in the near future.

The Wall Street bank named retailers that are vulnerable to the Chinese e-commerce app’s rise — and those likely to be insulated from it.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Ganesh Rao

The Federal Reserve released the minutes from its Oct. 31-Nov. 1, which showed the central bank didn’t give an indication of possible rate hikes coming.

“In discussing the policy outlook, participants continued to judge that it was critical that the stance of monetary policy be kept sufficiently restrictive to return inflation to the Committee’s 2 percent objective over time,” the minutes stated.

— Jeff Cox

Big Tech names have been getting a lot of love this year, with investors piling into the so-called Magnificent Seven stocks.

One portfolio manager, however, is shifting his focus to other tech players — particularly small mid-cap names.

“I would probably balance between large cap stocks and start to be more constructive on small mid-cap stocks by increasing my exposure to them,” Karen Kharmandarian, senior portfolio manager at Thematics Asset Management, told CNBC Pro.

CNBC Pro subscribers can discover some of his favorite stocks here.

— Amala Balakrishner

European markets are expected to open in flat to higher territory Wednesday.

The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 6 points higher at 7,483, Germany’s DAX up 16 points at 15,920, France’s CAC up 11 points at 7,237 and Italy’s FTSE MIB up 37 points at 29,249, according to data from IG. 

The U.K.’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt will deliver his “Autumn Statement” detailing the government’s plans for the economy. Russia’s producer price index data for October is set to be released. There are no major earnings Wednesday.

— Holly Ellyatt