Global Economy LIVE updates (October 19): EU inflation rose to 10.9% in September

The annual inflation rate in the Eurozone rose to 10.9 per cent in September, a jump from 10.1 per cent in the previous month. Meanwhile, UK inflation hit 10.1 per cent in September, a 40-year high.

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World stocks slipped Wednesday amidst sentiment caught between upbeat earnings and further signs that strong inflation will keep major central banks firmly in rate-hiking mode.

Europe's broad STOXX 600 index slipped 0.3 per cent. In London, banks such as LLoyds and NatWest tumbled on a report that Britain's new finance minister was planning to raid bank profits.

Wall Street shares were tipped to open higher with Netflix shares soaring 14 per cent in after-hours trade on Tuesday 

Gold prices slipped to a three-week low on Wednesday as the US dollar and Treasury yields rose on bets of more steep interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve.

Spot gold was down 0.6 per cent at $1,641.51 per ounce, as of 0845 GMT, after touching its lowest level since September 28 earlier in the day. US gold futures were 0.6 per cent lower at $1,646.20.

Sterling weakened on Wednesday after hotter-than-expected consumer price inflation and fears of a deeper recession bolstered expectations of a less aggressive rate hike by the Bank of England in November.

The US dollar held at a 32-year peak against the yen and rose from a two-week trough against a basket of major peers.

Gold hit a three-week trough on Wednesday, as the US dollar and Treasury yields firmed, while the Federal Reserve's commitment to further tightening its monetary policy also clouded the bullion's outlook.

Spot gold shed 0.8 per cent to $1,639.40 per ounce by 0702 GMT, hitting its lowest level since Sept. 28.

US gold futures were down 0.6 per cent at $1,646.60.

The dollar index was up 0.4 per cent, hurting gold's appeal for overseas buyers. Benchmark US 10-year Treasury yields edged closer to a 14-year peak touched last week. 

European stock markets edged higher at the start of trading Wednesday following gains in Tokyo and on Wall Street.

London's benchmark FTSE 100 index gained 0.1 percent to 6,942.61 points, as traders digested official data showing UK inflation back above 10 percent.

In the eurozone, Frankfurt's DAX index rose 0.1 percent to 12,781.79 points and the Paris CAC 40 won 0.2 percent to 6,080.43.

UN Chief Antonio Guterres has sought India's support in mobilising G20 nations to help out developing nations that are saddled with debt.

This comes as three of India's neighbors Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have approached IMF for loans to aid their struggling economies. 

"I count on India’s support in mobilising G20 countries around debt relief," Guterres told the students and faculty of the Indian Institute of Technology in Mumbai. "Many developing countries are at or near debt distress and require multilateral action, including the expansion and extension of the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative."

The initiative was established in 2020 and has allowed nearly 50 countries to suspend $12.9 billion in debt-service payments until the ned of 2021.

India will on December 1 take over G20 presidency from Indonesia. 

British inflation jumped back into double digits in September, official data showed on Wednesday, pushed up by soaring food prices as the country is gripped by a cost-of-living crisis.

The Consumer Prices Index accelerated to 10.1 percent on an annual basis, up from 9.9 percent in August and back to its July high, according to the Office for National Statistics.

India's Nestle on Wednesday (October 19), reported a much bigger profit in the third quarter than what was expected.

The profit rose 8.3 per cent to 6.68 billion INR ($8.11 million) in the quarter that ended on September 30. According to IBES's data, analysts expected a profit of 6.57 billion INR.

The reason is said to be the increased cost of the product along with a rebound in demand for chocolates and distribution of its products in rural areas. 

Asian shares on Wednesday were mixed. 

According to MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares excluding Japan witnessed a 1.2 per cent drop due to Chinese blue chips and a 1.4 per cent drop in Hong Kong's Hang Send index. 

India stocks on Wednesday (October 19), indexes rose for the fourth consecutive day as they followed strong cues from US markets and witnessed a drop in crude oil prices globally. 

The Sensex up 313.17 points, stands at 59,273.77 points or 0.53 per cent, with Nifty up 89.05 points or 17,576 points. 

In India, the Rupee appreciated 6 paise to 82.34 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday. 

Forex traders said that persistent foreign capital outflows capped the gains of the local unit. 

Today, the Sterling gained 0.14 per cent against the greenback to trade at $1.1335. This comes after the currency eased slightly in the previous session. 

Currently, the nation is facing several crises with annual inflation likely running at a double digit of 10 per cent last month, which would pressure the Bank of England to hike more aggressively. The UK will report inflation readings for September later in the day. 

That would likely pressure the Bank of England to hike more aggressively. The BoE said overnight that it would start selling some of its huge stock of British government bonds from November 1. It also mentioned that it would not sell this year any longer-duration gilts. 

Ray Attrill, head of FX strategy, at National Australia Bank: "Amid rapidly fluctuating views/market price on what the Bank of England will decide to do with rates on 2 November, a key data point of reference will be today's September UK inflation data." 

On Wednesday, the US dollar was little changed. It was hovered close to the weakest level in almost two weeks. 

However, the US dollar hit another fresh 32-year high of 149.34 yen overnight, before stabilising at 149.16. 

Shane Oliver, the chief economist at AMP Capital, said: "While shares have managed to find technical support in recent days and could bounce further... the near-term downside risks for shares remain high."

Chris Turner, global head of markets at ING, said a quiet week for U.S. data could also see the dollar correction extend a little. "But a core view of not just the Fed, but other central banks hiking into a looming recession should mean that the core dollar bull trend remains intact."

US S&P 500 futures rose 0.8 per cent and the Nasdaq futures jumped 1.3 per cent. 

On Tuesday, Netflix reported that it gained more than two million subscribers in the recent quarter. The streaming giant also claimed that investors feared that the company was losing paying customers. 

But Netflix Inc reversed customer losses that had hammered its stock this year, sending shares 14 per cent higher in after-hours trading. 

Meanwhile, quarterly results from Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Johnson & Johnson and Lockheed Martin helped US stocks rally. Both the Dow Jones and the S&P 500 gained one per cent. 

Markets have been impacted immensely due to multiple crises like coronavirus, war, etc. Here are trading updates from around the world: 

On Wednesday (October 19) Hong Kong stocks opened with losses. This comes after a positive three-day run-up. Traders are also waiting for the first policy speech by city leader John Lee later today. 

The Hang Seng Index slipped 0.64 per cent, or 108.67 points, to 16,805.91.

Meanwhile, the Shanghai Composite Index eased 0.25 per cent, or 7.70 points, to 3,073.26, while the Shenzhen Composite Index on China's second exchange was down 0.29 per cent, or 5.86 points, to 1,999.22.