Credit Suisse shares down 10% to fresh record low
Shares of embattled bank Credit Suisse hit another all-time low for a second consecutive day, dropping by as much as 10% around 9.47 a.m. London time on Wednesday.
Investors are assessing the impact the bank’s Tuesday announcement that it had found “material weaknesses” in its financial reporting processes for 2022 and 2021.
— Hannah Ward-Glenton and Elliot Smith
Platinum price surge forecast for 2023
Factors including power cuts in South Africa, the war in Ukraine and the increased production of hybrid cars could cause platinum prices to increase in 2023.
Investment bank UBS readjusted its price forecast for platinum in 2023, estimating that the precious metal will cost $1,150 per ounce for June, up from a previous estimate of $1,100, and will reach $1,200 per ounce in December.
Chart to show the price of platinum.
“The key point is that we’re expecting a pretty significant 24% year-on-year growth in terms of total demand,” Ed Sterck, Director of Research at the World Platinum Investment Council told CNBC, but supply is only set to increase by 13% compared to last year.
The full story is available here.
— Hannah Ward-Glenton
Stocks on the move: Bollore up 8%, IG Group down 6%
Shares of French logistics company Bollore were up 8% in early trade after the company decided to launch a cash tender offer on its own shares.
It would aim to acquire a maximum of just over 288.6 million shares, representing 9.78% of its share capital, according to a company press release.
Chart to show Bollore share price.
IG Group fell to the bottom of the Stoxx 600 index in early trade after third-quarter net trading revenue fell lower on market volatility and the company experienced a 5% drop in active client numbers.
The online trading organization reported revenue for the most recent quarter as 7% lower than the comparable quarter the previous year.
Chart to show Bollore share price.
European equity markets open lower
European equity markets opened lower, with banking stocks still in negative territory following the global Silicon Valley Bank fallout.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down 0.4% toward the start of trade, with most sectors and major bourses trading in the red. Retail stocks led losses with a 1.9% drop, followed by oil and gas stocks, which were down 1.4%. Banking stocks were down 0.5%.
— Hannah Ward-Glenton
BMW lifts margin forecast, expecting higher deliveries as it ramps up electric rollout
German carmaker BMW on Wednesday said it expects an EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) margin of between 8-10% for its automotive range in 2023, with deliveries set to rise slightly from 2022. Selling prices are targeted to remain at a “stable” level.
The company reaffirmed the full-year 2022 results reported last week, including an EBIT of 10.6 billion euros ($11.4 billion) for its automotive segment, which had an 8.6% margin last year.
BMW is carrying out an extensive rollout of battery-electric vehicles and anticipates it will reach more than 50% BEV share well ahead of 2030. The company’s BEV share is slated to reach 15% in 2023.
— Ruxandra Iordache
CNBC Pro: UBS says buy these 4 stocks if U.S.-China geopolitical fears continue to rise
UBS has named a number of Chinese stocks it says have remained “resilient” during periods of heightened geopolitical tensions between the United States and China.
In a note to clients on March 13, the Swiss bank said that more market volatility is expected when a potential U.S. ban on investment in some Chinese sectors is announced.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more about the UBS’ stock picks here.
— Ganesh Rao
China’s industrial output, retail sales rise in January to February period
China’s industrial output rose 2.4% in the January to February period, official data showed.
Retail sales rose 3.55% for the same period, in line with expectations.
China’s fixed asset investment in the first two months of the year saw a rise of 5.5%, higher than expectations from economists polled by Reuters that predicted to see growth of 4.4%.
China’s onshore yuan weakened after the data was released and traded at 6.8822 against the U.S. dollar.
The People’s Bank of China kept the rate on 481 billion yuan of one-year medium-term lending facility loans at 2.75%.
CNBC Pro: ‘Chaos creates opportunities’: Strategist says to look beyond the SVB fallout — and names his top picks
Worried about contagion from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank? Veteran strategist Kenny Polcari believes the impact from SVB’s failure will be fairly limited.
While investors are mostly shunning the banking sector in the short term, Polcari sees “some very interesting opportunities” in the space, as well as in other segments of the market.
Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Zavier Ong
CNBC Pro: As markets turn rocky, these global stocks look resilient and are expected to rally
Markets have had a rocky March so far, as inflation fears returned and the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank sent investors into a risk-off mode.
Against this backdrop, CNBC Pro used FactSet to screen for stocks on the MSCI World index and S&P 500 that look well positioned to withstand the volatility and are expected to do well looking ahead.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more about the stocks here.
— Weizhen Tan
Moody’s cuts outlook to negative on U.S. banking system
Moody’s Investors Service moved its view on the U.S. banking system to negative from stable on Monday, citing a “rapidly deteriorating operating environment.”
The move comes as the sectors reels following the closure of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. Banking stocks have mounted a comeback Tuesday after sliding over the past few sessions as concerns of contagion from the closures swirled.
“We have changed to negative from stable our outlook on the US banking system to reflect the rapid deterioration in the operating environment following deposit runs at Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), Silvergate Bank, and Signature Bank (SNY) and the failures of SVB and SNY,” Moody’s said in a report.
— Alex Harring, Jeff Cox
U.S. inflation data comes in line with expectations
The consumer price index rose 0.4% in February from the prior month, matching a Dow Jones estimate. The year-over-year increase of 6% was also in line with expectations.
— Fred Imbert
European markets: Here are the opening calls
European markets are heading for a mixed open Wednesday.
The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 7 points higher at 7,636, Germany’s DAX 21 points higher at 15,242, France’s CAC up 6 points at 7,144 and Italy’s FTSE MIB down 20 points at 26,312, according to data from IG.
Earnings are set to come from Prudential, Balfour Beatty, Lanxess, E.On, Inditex and H&M. On the data front, euro zone industrial production figures for January are set to be released.
— Holly Ellyatt
