Stock Market Updates: Latest News, Data, and Earnings Reports

Siemens Energy shares surged over 7% in early trading after securing 7.5 billion euros ($8.15 billion) in project-related state guarantees from the German government.

The German economy ministry announced late on Tuesday that it had provided the backstop as part of a wider 15 billion euros guarantee lines package agreed with banks and other stakeholders.

At the bottom of the European blue chip index, shares of French train manufacturer Alstom plunged over 10% after announcing plans to cut 1,500 jobs and sell off assets to strengthen its balance sheet.

– Elliot Smith

Siemens Energy has secured 7.5 billion euros ($8.15 billion) in project-related state guarantees from the German government, just hours before posting a nearly 5 billion euro loss for its fiscal year.

The German economy ministry announced late on Tuesday that it had granted the backstop as part of a wider 15 billion euros guarantee lines package agreed with banks and other stakeholders, following talks with private lenders and the company’s largest shareholder, Siemens AG.

The company denied that the fiscal guarantees constitute “state aid”, with Siemens Energy CEO Christian Bruch telling CNBC on Wednesday that no cash was involved.

The business will “pay money for these back guarantees, so it is like an insurance package,” he stressed.

Read the full story here.

– Elliot Smith

U.K. inflation sharply fell in October to 4.6% from 6.7% the previous month, reaching a two-year low.

The headline consumer price index remained flat on a monthly basis. Economists polled by Reuters had expected the headline CPI to rise by 4.8% year-on-year and 0.1% from the previous month.

Core CPI — which excludes volatile food, energy, alcohol, and tobacco prices — dropped to an annual 5.7% in October from 6.1% in September.

Read the full story here.

– Elliot Smith

The Chinese economy has been in a funk this year due to a decline in exports, slowdown in consumer spending, and a prolonged slump in the property sector, leading analysts to turn bearish on the Asian giant.

Chinese stocks have performed poorly with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index plummeting around 14% in the year to date, while the Shenzhen Component is down 10%.

Many emerging market funds have reduced their allocations in China by some 200 basis points this year and shifted their weight to other markets like Taiwan, India, South Korea, Brazil, and Mexico in anticipation of better valuations and growth.

However, analysts see opportunities in the Chinese market right now, naming sectors – and stocks – that are poised for growth.

Read more here.

— Amala Balakrishner

As the end of the year approaches, investors are likely to be reviewing their portfolios and considering which stocks to sell to harvest tax losses.

Tax-loss harvesting is a strategy to offset the capital gains tax from stocks that have run up in share price with losses from non-performing stocks.

To aid investors, Scotiabank identified several stocks on Canada’s TSX Composite index that are down significantly this year but are still rated as “Sector Outperform” by its analysts.

Read more here.

— Ganesh Rao

European markets are expected to open in mixed territory on Wednesday.

The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 4 points lower at 7,419, Germany’s DAX up 10 points at 15,628, France’s CAC up 4 points at 7,191, and Italy’s FTSE MIB up 81 points at 29,251, according to data from IG.

Earnings come from Infineon, Siemens Energy and Aviva. U.K. inflation figures for October are due.

— Holly Ellyatt