European stocks close 2.8% higher following U.S. inflation reading

U.S. stocks opened higher Thursday after a lighter than expected inflation report suggested that price pressures may be cooling.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 2.3% in early deals while the S&P 500 rose 3.4%. The tech heavy Nasdaq Composite also rallied 4.8%.

— Karen Gilchrist

Willem Sels, global chief investment officer at HSBC Private Banking and Wealth Management, said the Fed would be particularly interested in the decline in core inflation shown in Thursday's U.S. CPI data.

Sels noted that while some components of core inflation such as transportation costs and supply chain bottlenecks had already begun to ease, others that had been more persistent — such as rents, leisure and entertainment prices fueling services inflation — were now showing signs of tailing off.

"The decline in core inflation is a good first sign, but for markets to be certain that inflation will continue to ease, we will need to see some weakening of the US labour market from the very strong levels. The Fed has said before that it is willing to hike rates to the point where unemployment starts to rise in order to slay the inflation dragon," Sels said.

"So, markets will positively receive today's news, it should help bonds and equities in the short term, while being a headwind for the US dollar. But one swallow does not make a spring, and we should not conclude from today's news that the inflation fight is over."

- Elliot Smith

Unemployment claims increased week over week and were high than expected.

There were 225,000 seasonally adjusted jobless claims for the week ending Nov. 5. That level marks a 3.2% increase from the prior week's 218,000 and came in higher than expectations of 220,000.

Jobless claims for the week also come in higher than the four-week moving average of 218,750.

— Alex Harring

The U.S. consumer price index — a broad measure of inflation — rose by 0.4% in October from a month ago. On a year-over-year basis, the CPI rose 7.7%.

Economists polled by Dow Jones expected a month-over-month gain of 0.6% and a year-over-year advance of 7.9%.

Excluding volatile food and energy costs, so-called core CPI increased 0.3% for the month and 6.3% on an annual basis, compared to respective estimates of 0.5% and 6.5%.

— Jeff Cox

Corporate earnings continue to drive individual share price movement in Europe.

Shares of Knorr-Bremse jumped more than 8% by early afternoon, after the German brakes manufacturer posted a rise in third-quarter revenue and backed its 2022 guidance.

At the bottom of the European blue chip index, French-headquartered call center firm Teleperformance saw its shares tumble more than 33% after reports that Colombia's Ministry of Labor had launched an investigation into the company relating to its treatment of TikTok content moderators.

Allegations of traumatic working conditions, low pay and union-busting by the TikTok subcontractor were first revealed by Time and The Bureau of Investigative Journalism.

- Elliot Smith

George Quinn, CFO of Zurich Insurance, discusses its third quarter earnings, the challenges it faces and the inflationary outlook.

Alexander Treves of JPMorgan Asset Management says some clarity on the endpoint "would be welcome" but he doesn't think "we're anywhere near that at the moment" as inflation remains persistent.

Corporate earnings continue to drive individual share price movement in Europe.

Shares of Knorr-Bremse jumped more than 8% by early afternoon, after the German brakes manufacturer posted a rise in third-quarter revenue and backed its 2022 guidance.

At the bottom of the European blue chip index, French-headquartered call center firm Teleperformance saw its shares tumble more than 33% after reports that Colombia's Ministry of Labor had launched an investigation into the company relating to its treatment of TikTok content moderators.

Allegations of traumatic working conditions, low pay and union-busting by the TikTok subcontractor were first revealed by Time and The Bureau of Investigative Journalism.

- Elliot Smith

Energy is the rare bright spot in a year when markets have been getting absolutely pummeled.

When looking at major oil stocks, ExxonMobil and Chevron are two names that may come to mind.

Both companies posted solid third-quarter earnings last month. The question is: which stock is a better buy?

Goldman Sachs sets out to determine the name that "deserves the premium."

— Weizhen Tan

President Joe Biden said Wednesday he is eager to work with congressional Republicans after the midterm elections, but stressed he would not compromise on issues such as abortion rights and Social Security.

"I'm open to any good ideas. I want to be very clear: I'm not going to support any Republican proposal that's going to make inflation worse," Biden said, giving the example of removing the prescription drug price cap for Americans on Medicare passed by his party. "And I'm not going to walk away from the historic commitments we just made to take on the climate crisis. They're not compromise-able issues to me and I won't let it happen."

— Emma Kinery

The U.S. Dollar Index rose to a two-decade high in September. It's also hit all-time highs against several major currencies in recent weeks, including the British Pound and Japanese Yen.

Now, several market participants now believe the dollar rally, driven by the Federal Reserve raising interest rates more aggressively than other central banks, is about fade over the next three to six months.

CNBC Pro canvassed opinions from investment banks and brokers on where they see the dollar heading. Subscribers can read more here.

— Ganesh Rao

Former President Donald Trump is celebrating the wins of Republicans he endorsed for the 2022 midterm elections, despite losses for many of his preferred candidates in key races.

"I really think we had great candidates that performed very well," Trump told Fox News. He offered examples in a range of GOP incumbents and newcomers who won Senate races: Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, Eric Schmitt in Missouri, J.D. Vance in Ohio, Ted Budd in North Carolina and Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin.

But Trump's anticipated success for a bevy of candidates he endorsed has not come to pass. U.S. Senate candidate Mehmet Oz's loss to Democrat John Fetterman in a hotly contested Pennsylvania race and 2020 election denier Kristina Karamo's loss to Jocelyn Benson for Michigan secretary of state are two high-profile examples.

Trump told Fox claims that he was "furious" at the election outcomes are a "fake news narrative." The results have not swayed his plans for a "major" announcement this month about a possible 2024 presidential run, he added.

"We had tremendous success," Trump said. "Why would anything change?"

—Chelsey Cox

European markets are expected to open higher Thursday.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 32 points higher at 8,365, Germany's DAX up 25 points at 18,510, France's CAC 7 points higher at 8,143 and Italy's FTSE MIB up 59 points at 33,908, according to data from IG.

Earnings are due from Ferrovial, Telefonica, EDP, Enel, Pirelli and Salvatore Ferragamo.

— Holly Ellyatt