Press Digest-New York Times Business News - December 5

Investing.com – Australia stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Gold, Metals & Mining and Materials sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 added 0.19%.

The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were IGO Ltd (ASX:IGO), which rose 7.88% or 0.51 points to trade at 6.98 at the close. Meanwhile, Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX:WHC) added 6.11% or 0.45 points to end at 7.81 and Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX:MIN) was up 4.74% or 2.27 points to 50.21 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Premier Investments Ltd (ASX:PMV), which fell 16.14% or 2.92 points to trade at 15.17 at the close. Objective Corp Ltd (ASX:OCL) declined 3.82% or 0.69 points to end at 17.35 and Nick Scali Ltd (ASX:NCK) was down 3.73% or 0.90 points to 23.24.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 571 to 551 and 373 ended unchanged.

Shares in IGO Ltd (ASX:IGO) rose to 52-week highs; up 7.88% or 0.51 to 6.98. Shares in Premier Investments Ltd (ASX:PMV) fell to 52-week lows; falling 16.14% or 2.92 to 15.17. Shares in Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX:WHC) rose to 52-week highs; up 6.11% or 0.45 to 7.81.

The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was down 3.64% to 10.21 a new 6-months low.

Gold Futures for February delivery was up 0.15% or 6.40 to $4,249.40 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in January fell 0.27% or 0.16 to hit $59.51 a barrel, while the February Brent oil contract fell 0.16% or 0.10 to trade at $63.16 a barrel.

AUD/USD was unchanged 0.14% to 0.66, while AUD/JPY fell 0.10% to 102.43.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.04% at 98.92.

Investing.com-- Asian stock markets were mixed on Friday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 sliding while other regional indexes held steady, as investors weighed divergent central bank signals and awaited a key policy decision in India.

Wall Street indexes settled largely unchanged overnight, while futures tied to them traded slightly higher as of 04:03 GMT.

Nifty 50 flat ahead of RBI decision

Markets in India remained cautious ahead of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) policy announcement later in the day.

Earlier expectations of a rate cut now appear more uncertain amid strong economic growth and persistently low inflation. India’s economy expanded at an impressive 8.2% in the July–September quarter, surpassing forecasts and prompting upward revisions to full-year growth projections.

The recent decline in the Indian rupee to record lows adds another layer of complexity. Analysts say the RBI may be reluctant to ease policy aggressively under these circumstances, as a rate cut amid a softening rupee could increase external vulnerabilities.

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Japan stocks slip amid BOJ hike bets

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 fell about 1.5%, reversing gains seen earlier in the week, as growing bets on a Bank of Japan (BOJ) rate hike weighed on sentiment.

Investors reacted to comments from BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda earlier this week, which were interpreted as hawkish.

Meanwhile, a Reuters report cited sources saying the BOJ is likely to raise interest rates at its December meeting, with the government expected to tolerate such a decision.

Fed decision looms

Elsewhere in Asia, trading remained muted as U.S. rate-cut expectations remained firm after Thursday’s jobless claims data, which showed initial claims fell to 191,000, signaling some cooling in the labour market.

Traders are positioning ahead of Friday’s U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge.

China’s Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and the Shanghai Composite indexes were largely flat. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged 0.2% lower.

South Korea’s KOSPI gained 0.7%, while Singapore’s Straits Times Index fell 0.4%.

Elsewhere, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index traded largely flat.

Updates at 05:23 GMT with RBI decision, latest price moves

Investing.com-- Asian stock markets were mixed on Friday, with most regional indexes holding steady amid divergent central bank signals, while the Reserve Bank of India reduced interest rates as expected.

Wall Street indexes settled largely unchanged overnight, while futures tied to them traded slightly higher as of 04:03 GMT.

RBI cuts rates by 25 bps; Nifty 50 ticks up

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut its key repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.25% on Friday, delivering a widely anticipated reduction as policymakers sought to support growth amid easing inflation pressures.

Governor Sanjay Malhotra said inflation had “eased significantly” and was likely to be softer than earlier projections. 

The central bank also reaffirmed confidence in the economy’s momentum, upgrading its estimate for real GDP growth for FY26.

Rate cut bets had somewhat diminished before the decision due to strong economic growth and a slide in the rupee to record low levels.

The Nifty 50 index inched up 0.2% after the rate cut.

Japan stocks slip amid BOJ hike bets

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 fell about 1.5%, reversing gains seen earlier in the week, as growing bets on a Bank of Japan (BOJ) rate hike weighed on sentiment.

Investors reacted to comments from BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda earlier this week, which were interpreted as hawkish.

Meanwhile, a Reuters report cited sources saying the BOJ is likely to raise interest rates at its December meeting, with the government expected to tolerate such a decision.

Fed decision looms

Elsewhere in Asia, trading remained muted as U.S. rate-cut expectations remained firm after Thursday’s jobless claims data, which showed initial claims fell to 191,000, signaling some cooling in the labour market.

Traders are positioning ahead of Friday’s U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge.

China’s Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and the Shanghai Composite indexes were largely flat. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged 0.2% lower.

South Korea’s KOSPI gained 0.7%, while Singapore’s Straits Times Index fell 0.4%.

Elsewhere, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index traded largely flat.

Investing.com-- ITT Inc (NYSE:ITT) is in advanced talks to acquire industrial equipment maker SPX Flow (NYSE:SPXC) in a deal valuing the company at more than $4.5 billion, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

A transaction could be announced within days, although negotiations remain ongoing, the report said.

According to Bloomberg, no final agreement has been reached, and talks could still fall through or see changes in timing and terms.

Lone Star took Charlotte, North Carolina-based SPX Flow private in 2021 in a $3.8 billion deal, including debt. SPX Flow manufactures valves, pumps, and food processing equipment under brands such as APV, Johnson Pump, and Gerstenberg Schröder.

The report added that the potential purchase would mark ITT’s largest-ever acquisition.

Investing.com-- U.S. stock futures were little changed on Thursday evening after Wall Street closed largely flat, supported by firm bets of a Federal Reserve rate cut next week, while investors await a key inflation report.

S&P 500 Futures inched up 0.1% to 6,872.50 points, while Nasdaq 100 Futures gained 0.2% to 25,661.75 points by 20:10 ET (00:10 GMT). Dow Jones Futures traded flat at 47,926.0 points.

Fed cut bets support Wall St; PCE inflation awaited

In the regular session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1%, while the S&P 500 ticked up 0.1% and the NASDAQ Composite gained 0.2%.

The likelihood of a 25-basis point reduction at the Fed’s December 9–10 meeting has climbed -- with futures now pricing in roughly an 87% probability. The move reflects growing concern over recent weak labour data and broader signs of economic cooling.

The latest labour-market snapshot on Thursday showed U.S. weekly jobless claims plunged by 27,000 to a seasonally adjusted 191,000 -- the lowest level since September 2022. Despite the sharp drop, economists cautioned that distortions tied to the Thanksgiving holiday may have exaggerated the decline.

A private-sector payroll report from ADP on Wednesday showed a decline of 32,000 jobs -- the largest drop in over two and a half years. According to a report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, announced job cuts dropped sharply in November, but hiring intentions remained weak.

These developments come as a record-long 43-day government shutdown delayed the formal jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It’s now scheduled for after the Fed’s policy meeting.

All eyes are now on Friday’s release of the delayed monthly core inflation gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (PCE), which is the Fed’s preferred inflation measure. A soft PCE print could further embolden rate-cut expectations.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise slips in post-market trading

Ulta Beauty Inc (NASDAQ:ULTA) shares climbed over 6% in extended trading after the cosmetics retailer topped Wall Street estimates for its fiscal third quarter and raised its full-year outlook.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE)shares slumped 9% post-market after the cloud services and hardware company missed analysts’ revenue expectations for the fourth quarter, posting $9.68 billion versus a consensus estimate of $9.94 billion.

Investing.com -- CervoMed Inc (NASDAQ:CRVO) stock jumped 9.3% in after-hours trading Thursday following the release of positive Phase 2b trial results for its dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) treatment candidate.

The company’s experimental drug neflamapimod demonstrated significant improvements on primary and key secondary outcome measures in patients with DLB, particularly those without Alzheimer’s disease co-pathology. The trial results were presented at the 18th Clinical Trials on Alzheimer’s Disease Conference in San Diego.

Key findings showed neflamapimod reduced clinical worsening by 52% on the primary endpoint, Clinical Dementia Rating Sum of Boxes (CDR-SB), compared to control at 16 weeks. This effect was even more pronounced in patients with lower plasma ptau181 levels, showing an 82% reduction.

The drug’s efficacy appeared durable, with a 65% reduction in clinical worsening observed at 32 weeks across all participants. Patients who switched from placebo to the effective dose of neflamapimod showed a 1.12 point improvement in CDR-SB scores compared to their placebo period.

Importantly, the treatment also significantly reduced glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), a biomarker of neuronal damage, suggesting the drug may address underlying disease mechanisms by targeting neuroinflammation and synaptic dysfunction.

"The magnitude of benefit and consistency of data across clinical measures in RewinD-LB provide great confidence that neflamapimod holds true potential to meaningfully slow clinical progression in DLB, a rapidly progressive disease with profound impact on patients and caregivers," said Dr. John-Paul Taylor, Professor at Newcastle University and principal investigator of the trial.

CervoMed is now preparing to initiate a Phase 3 registrational trial in the second half of 2026. The company noted that neflamapimod was well-tolerated with a low rate of treatment discontinuation over 48 weeks.

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