The dollar index is on pace for back-to-back winning weeks after hitting its highest level in nearly a month.

The index, which measures the U.S. greenback against a basket of foreign currencies, has added 0.3% so far this week. If those gains hold for the rest of the week, it would mark the second straight winning week.

The index hit a high of 106.915 on Wednesday, its most expensive level since notching 106.974 on Oct. 6.

— Alex Harring, Gina Francolla

Private payrolls in the U.S. grew by 113,000 in October, slightly below a Dow Jones forecast of 130,000. To be sure, that number is well above the unrevised 89,000 print seen in September. Wages, meanwhile, expanded by just 5.7% year over year — the smallest increase since October 2021.

— Fred Imbert, Jeff Cox

Yum China plunged 13% in premarket trading after the fast food company reported third-quarter revenue that missed estimates. In 2016, Yum China was spun off from Yum! Brands, the restaurant company behind KFC and Pizza Hut.

Yum China posted revenue of $2.91 billion, lower than the expected $3.06 billion, according to consensus estimates from LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv.

Wayfair shares tumbled 12% in the premarket after the online furniture retailer reported disappointing third-quarter revenue amid weak demand in the home goods sector.

The company posted $2.94 billion in revenue, lower than the forecasted $2.98 billion, according to consensus estimates from LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv. It did report a narrower-than-expected adjusted loss of 13 cents per share, compared to the anticipated 48 cents.

— Sarah Min, Gabrielle Fonrouge

CVS’ third-quarter results beat analyst expectations thanks in part to strong sales from the company’s health services division.

The pharmacy operator earned an adjusted $2.21 per share on revenue of $89.76 billion. Analysts polled by LSEG expected a profit of $2.13 per share on revenue of $88.25 billion. To be sure, CVS trimmed its full-year earnings guidance.

— Fred Imbert

The Fed’s decision is due out at 2 p.m. ET. While the central bank is largely expected to keep rates unchanged, investors will tune in to Chair Jerome Powell’s news conference to gather clues on what the central bank could do down the road.

“There’s no likelihood that the Fed will do anything here. It wouldn’t make sense at this meeting. But, what is the messaging?” said Josh Emanuel, chief investment strategist at Wilshire. “My sense is that Powell is going to want to be very measured and careful about sounding too hawkish. He’s managed to thread the needle here very well.”

— Jeff Cox

European stocks opened higher Wednesday, as global markets look to shake off a gloomy October.

The Stoxx 600 index was up 0.48% at 8:15 a.m., with health-care, autos and retail stocks all gaining around 1%, while utilities fell 0.7%.

France’s CAC 40 index gained 0.44%, while Germany’s DAX and the U.K.’s FSTE 100 were both 0.4% higher.

South Korea saw its first rise in exports in 13 months, with exports in October climbing 5.1% year-on-year.

This was a reversal from the 4.4% drop seen in September, and the first time since September 2022 that the country has posted a year-on-year expansion in exports.

Separately, South Korea’s factory activity saw a slightly deeper contraction in October, with the purchasing managers index coming in at 49.8, compared with 49.9 in September.

— Lim Hui Jie

Japan’s yen held at an over one-year low against the U.S. dollar a day after the country’s central bank stood pat on interest rates and said it will be more flexible with its yield curve control policy.

The yen weakened 0.25%, falling past the 150 per dollar threshold to trade at 151.29. The current level was the lowest since late October 2022.

The Bank of Japan said on Tuesday the target level of the 10-year Japanese government bond yield will be held at 0%, but will take the upper bound of 1% “as a reference.”

— Shreyashi Sanyal

China’s manufacturing activity logged a surprise contraction in October, a private survey showed.

The Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing PMI fell to 49.5 in October from 50.6 in September. This was the first contraction in four months. Economists polled by Reuters expected a reading of 50.8.

A PMI reading below 50 denotes a contraction.

The survey mirrors the official figure released by the country’s national bureau of statistics on Tuesday.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

Japan’s markets saw a strong open, extending gains from Tuesday when the Bank of Japan increased the flexibility around its yield curve control policy.

The Nikkei 225 was 2.05% higher, powered by gains in distribution services and consumer durable stocks.

Some of the top gainers on the Nikkei include automaker Subaru, investment broker Daiwa Securities, and Lasertec, which manufactures inspection equipment for semiconductor firms.

— Lim Hui Jie

Chinese consumers are very cautious now, said Shehzad Qazi, managing director of China Beige Book.

Qazi notes consumers in China are pulling back from discretionary spending and really sticking to the staples, highlighting that industries like food and apparel fared better than luxury.  

“The bulk of revenge spending took place in the travel and leisure sector, maybe a little in luxury earlier in the year but the whole revenge spending thesis was wildly optimistic and wildly unrealistic,” Qazi told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia.”

Qazi says policymakers in China appear to be confident in achieving the 5% growth target they’ve set for the year, and hence, there is not much pressure to inject additional stimulus into the economy.

“Unless Beijing does an about-face on its decision to do more household focused stimulus, there really isn’t much option on the table for stimulus to be the driver of consumer spending,” Qazi said.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

October was not a kind month for Wall Street, with the major averages notching a three-month losing streak. That marks the longest monthly slide for the Dow and S&P 500 since the first quarter of 2020.

Here’s a breakdown of the benchmarks’ performance:

— Fred Imbert

Check out the companies making headlines in after-hours trading.

• Paycom Software — Shares dropped 26.5% after the company missed third-quarter revenue estimates. Paycom posted $406.3 million in revenue for the period, while analysts polled by FactSet had called for $411.2 million. Earnings per share beat forecasts, however.
• Livent — The maker of battery-grade lithium hydroxide dropped 4.4% after cutting its forward guidance and reporting a 10% decline in quarterly revenue. The company reported adjusted earnings of 44 cents per share on $211.4 million in revenue for the third quarter, while analysts surveyed by FactSet had called for earnings of 48 cents per share on $264.4 million in revenue.
• Advanced Micro Devices — The chipmaker declined 4.5% after its fourth-quarter revenue estimate of $6.1 billion disappointed investors. The company reported 70 cents per share in earnings surpassing analysts’ forecast of 68 cents per share, according to LSEG. Its revenue for the third quarter also came out higher than expected.

Read here for the full list.

— Pia Singh