Hawkish Fed? Hot PPI? Investors shrugged

This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our new, international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.

‘Policy should remain restrictive’
Federal Reserve officials were divided over the necessity of an additional interest rate increase, minutes of the central bank’s September meeting revealed. But they were unanimous on two points. First, they could “proceed carefully” on future decisions; second, that “policy should remain restrictive for some time until the Committee is confident that inflation is moving down sustainably toward its objective.”

Fourth straight winning session
U.S. markets rose Wednesday. All major indexes closed higher for the fourth consecutive session as Treasury yields pulled back slightly. Following Wall Street, Asia-Pacific stocks climbed Thursday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index popped more than 2%. Separately, economists expect India’s inflation to ease in September — and the country’s economy to remain strong going into 2024.

Boosting stake in China’s banks
Shares of China’s “Big Four” banks rallied after the country’s sovereign wealth fund, Central Huijin Investment, increased its stake in them. Though it’s just a 0.01 percentage point increment in ownership, the fund said it’ll continue boosting its holdings over the next six months — signaling a move to renew confidence in China’s stock market.  

Exxon Mobil buys shale giant
Exxon Mobil has agreed to buy Pioneer Natural Resources, a big player in the shale industry, for $59.5 billion. The agreement’s structured as all-stock deal, which works out to $253 per share. This is Exxon’s biggest acquisition since buying Mobil in 1999 for about $75.3 billion at that time. Exxon’s production in the Permian Basin would more than double to 1.3 million barrels per day once the deal closes next year.

[PRO] Undervalued semiconductor sector
Nvidia’s meteoric rise this year helped rocket shares of other semiconductor firms. But a sell-off in September has made some semiconductor stocks look cheap, according to Morningstar. The research firm views semiconductor stocks as 15% undervalued, on a median price or fair value estimate basis, as of Oct. 3 — and has chosen two stocks as its top picks.