Stock futures rise Wednesday as November rally resumes: Live updates

Meituan’s Hong Kong-listed shares plunged more than 11% to 91.65 Hong Kong dollars by afternoon trading.

Shares of the Chinese delivery firm fell to their lowest level since late March 2020 as it struck a cautious tone in its third quarter earnings call, according to a transcript by FactSet.

“We think in Q4 revenue year-over-year gross profit delivery will be slightly lower than the Q3 growth rate,” Meituan management warned on the call.

The company said on Tuesday its third-quarter revenue rose 22.1% to 76.47 billion Chinese yuan ($10.81 billion) from a year earlier. Adjusted net profit came in at 5.7 billion yuan ($809 million).

South Korean stocks have so far emerged as an undervalued and underloved part of Asia-Pacific equity markets but that is exactly what could make them attractive to investors next year, according to Goldman Sachs.

Goldman even argued that South Korea markets offer the highest potential earnings growth in 2024 in the Asia-Pacific region as its semiconductor sector recovers from steep profit declines. The investment firm remains overweight on South Korean stocks.

“We forecast EPS growth to rebound to 54% in 2024 and to grow 20% further in 2025,” Goldman said with regards to Korea’s Kospi benchmark index.

South Korea is Asia’s fourth largest economy but its markets are often considered undervalued by analysts, leading to what is sometimes referred to as the “Korea discount.”

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— Shreyashi Sanyal

The New Zealand dollar jumped 1% to nearly 0.62 against the U.S. dollar after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand held its official cash rate at 5.5% and warned that rates could go higher to tackle inflation.

The kiwi dollar jumped to its highest level in nearly four months after the decision. The currency is down 2.5% so far this year and is headed for its third straight yearly decline.

The central bank noted that inflation is still too high and said monetary policy will need to remain restrictive in order to control it.

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Australia’s weighted inflation rate for October slowed more than expected, coming in at 4.9% compared with the 5.2% expected by economists polled by Reuters.

This was also lower than the 5.6% seen in September. The overall inflation rate stood at 4.8%, its lowest level since January 2022.

The country’s statistics bureau revealed that the most significant price rises were housing, food and non-alcoholic beverages, as well as transport.

— Lim Hui Jie

Stock futures were little changed on Tuesday, with investors clinging to hope that the Federal Reserve was done raising benchmark interest rates.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 17 points, or 0.05%. S&P 500 futures climbed 0.02% while Nasdaq 100 futures hovered near the flatline.

— Brian Evans