European markets open slightly lower after hitting nine-week high

Stocks are set to open mixed Friday, according to IG data, with the U.K.’s FTSE 100 set to dip 24 points to 7,466 and Germany’s DAX to be flat.

France’s CAC 40 and Italy’s MIB are also seen slightly lower, by 11 points and 17 points, respectively.

Uncertainty in global markets coupled with persistently high inflation has raised the question of whether there will be a hard or soft economic landing.

Andy Budden, investment director for equities at global financial services firm Capital Group, is in the latter camp and expects the U.S. Federal Reserve to keep rates high but not tip the economy into a recession.

Taking into account his expected economic outcome, Budden named four themes to watch — and outlines the type of dividend stocks he likes.

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— Amala Balakrishner

European growth stocks haven’t been doing as well as their U.S. peers this year.

Growth stocks in the region have underperformed value stocks by 13% since the start of the rate-hiking cycle in 2022, according to Goldman Sachs in a Nov. 20 report.

But the investment bank expects that to change soon, and highlighted some names.

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— Weizhen Tan

UBS named three stocks in the luxury for investors looking ahead to 2024.

One of the bank’s stock picks is expected to rise by nearly 40% over the next 12 months despite the risk of a recession.

Analysts at the bank also said their three picks had attractive valuations that would see minimal downside in a potential downturn.

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— Ganesh Rao

The influential oil group reuniting the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies will hold a virtual meeting to decide crude production strategy on Nov. 30, the OPEC Secretariat said.

The group, collectively known as OPEC+, was supposed to convene in person in Vienna over Nov. 25-26 but has since postponed its meeting amid inter-member disgruntlement — weighing on intraday prices on Thursday.

The Ice Brent contract with January expiry was trading at $80.30 per barrel at 2:10 p.m. London time, down by $1.66 per barrel from the Wednesday settlement. The Nymex WTI contract with January delivery was at $75.45 per barrel, lower by $1.65 per barrel from the previous day’s close price.

— Ruxandra Iordache