China's CSI 300 hits near 5-year low; Asia markets mixed as gold breaches all-time high, bitcoin crosses $40,000

Veteran investor David Roche said Monday he was "very worried" about the amount of global debt, but reassured that it would not be a top crisis this year as inflation continues to ebb.

There's a mismatch in the rate at which debt is increasing and our capacity to pay for it, warned Roche.

He said he is certain that mounting debt will be a major crisis, but not the top crisis of the year as interest rates continue to fall.

"Interest rates will be on the way down rather than up and that will save us all again to fight another day," he said on CNBC's "Squawk Box Asia" on Monday.

Global debt increased by $10 trillion in the first half of 2023, bringing it to a record high of $307 trillion.

— Charmaine Jacob

Spot gold prices notched a new record on Monday for a second straight day, rising to a high of $2,110.8 per ounce before giving up some gains. It is currently trading at $2,084.28.

Analysts who spoke to CNBC noted that the yellow metal's price is on course to hit fresh highs next year, citing geopolitical uncertainty, a likely weaker U.S. dollar and possible interest rate cuts.

"The anticipated retreat in both the USD and interest rates across 2024 are key positive drivers for gold," said Heng Koon How, UOB's head of markets strategy, global economics and markets research, who expects gold prices could reach up to $2,200 by the end of 2024.

Read more here.

— Lee Ying Shan

Shares of Evergrande Group rose over 9% as the beleaguered Chinese property firm's court hearing over its possible liquidation was postponed to Jan. 29, 2024.

The firm was originally scheduled to face a Hong Kong court hearing on Monday over a petition from a creditor seeking to wind up the company.

Over the weekend, GMT Research issued a report alleging that the company had inflated its revenue for a decade, and that the it was never profitable, which Evergrande refuted.

Read the full story here.

— Lim Hui Jie

Stocks have faced a mixed environment this year, according to one portfolio manager — but several should provide good investment opportunities looking ahead following a broadening of the market.

When pressed on what stocks make good plays, Dunn responded with four names, adding: "There's a lot of opportunities out there to pick up really good companies on the cheap."

Pro

— Amala Balakrishner

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell described discussion of cutting interest rates as "premature," saying more hikes could be on the horizon.

"It would be premature to conclude with confidence that we have achieved a sufficiently restrictive stance, or to speculate on when policy might ease," Powell said in prepared remarks for an audience at Spelman College in Atlanta. "We are prepared to tighten policy further if it becomes appropriate to do so."

His remarks come ahead of the central bank's next meeting on Dec. 12-13. The Fed has kept rates level at its last two meetings.

"The strong actions we have taken have moved our policy rate well into restrictive territory, meaning that tight monetary policy is putting downward pressure on economic activity and inflation," Powell said. "Monetary policy is thought to affect economic conditions with a lag, and the full effects of our tightening have likely not yet been felt."

— Alex Harring, Jeff Cox

Major changes have taken place in the economy over the past five years.

A long-standing zero-interest rate regime has given way to rising rates, leading to higher borrowing costs — a situation usually bad for stocks.

But the red-hot inflation that characterized the past couple of years is now cooling, raising several questions for investors: How will this affect stocks and interest rates?

CNBC Pro spoke to financial advisors and investment experts to find out how they would allocate $250,000 over the next five years. They came up with three types of portfolios that cater to investors with different risk appetites.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

Oil prices continued their slide on Friday amid disappointment with OPEC+ production cuts and as U.S. oil rigs rose slightly week over week.

The West Texas Intermediate contract for January fell $1.89, or 2.49%, to $74.07 a barrel, while the Brent crude contract for February declined $1.98, or 2.45%, to $78.88 a barrel.

Oil has declined about 5% since Wednesday's close despite efforts by OPEC and its allies, OPEC+, to boost prices.

Seven OPEC+ member Thursday promised cuts of 2.2 million bpd for the first quarter of 2024, but traders were skeptical that they would actually deliver.

Meanwhile, U.S. oil rigs rose by 5 week over week, but are down 122 year over year.

— Spencer Kimball

Some of the former leaders in the technology sector have enjoyed a strong rally in recent weeks that have helped push the U.S. stock market back near its highest level of the year.

Over the last month, Intel is up more than 16%, and IBM has jumped more than 9%. HP Inc. shares are up more than 10% in that same time frame. Dell was sliding on Friday after its third quarter report, but the stock is still up over 4% in the past month.

"While Nvidia garners all the attention, of all things Intel recently has outperformed. Together with almost daily new highs in IBM and Dell, it's enough to make you think PCs are here to stay. These may not be as much fun as the Mag 7, but that's only true if you define fun as volatility rather than making money. In any event, the real point here is that it is encouraging to see stocks like these acting well, in addition to the Nvidia's of the world," Wellington Shields analyst Frank Gretz said in a note to clients on Friday.

— Jesse Pound

Bank of America thinks the benchmark S&P 500 thinks can reach the 5,000 by the end of next year, as Wall Street has already past a point of "maximum macro uncertainty."

Analyst Derek Harris wrote in a Friday note that markets have already "absorbed significant geopolitical shocks," and the Federal Reserve has has so far meaningfully helped tame inflation with rate hikes in 2023. The move higher would mark a roughly 10% increase from current S&P 500 support levels.

"Macro signals are muddled, but idiosyncratic alpha increased this year," Harris wrote. "We're bullish not because we expect the Fed to cut, but because of what the Fed has accomplished. Companies have adapted (as they are wont to do) to higher rates and inflation."

— Brian Evans