Stocks on the move: Natwest, CaixaBank fall
Banks Natwest and CaixaBank declined sharply in afternoon trading, falling 8% and 7%, respectively.
Both released third quarter earnings Friday, with the U.K.’s Natwest reporting a £1.1 billion ($1.3 billion) profit, shy of analyst forecasts.
Spanish firm CaixaBank was down despite reporting a 18.8% annual profit increase to 884 million euros ($882.50 million), higher than anticipated.
Overall, European banking stocks were down 1%.
— Jenni Reid
Russia keeps interest rate unchanged, ending months of cutting
MOSCOW, Russia: The Russian central bank has cut its key interest rate by 300 basis points for a third time since its emergency hike in late February, citing cooling inflation and a recovery in the ruble.
KIRILL Kudryavtsev | AFP | Getty Images
Russia’s central bank kept its interest rate unchanged at 7.5%, citing inflationary expectations and geopolitical uncertainty following the “partial mobilization” of Russian troops into Ukraine and prospects for a prolonged conflict.
The move to hold the interest rate ended a cycle of several months of cutting that began in April. The central bank had more than doubled rates to 20% shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to counter a plummeting ruble.
The central bank has cut rates six times since then, hitting the pre-war interest rate of 9.5% by June, citing improvements in fiscal conditions and lowering inflation. While inflation is still far above the bank’s target of 4%, sitting at 13.7% in September, it’s fallen significantly from the 20-year high of 20.37% it hit in April as Western sanctions and foreign exchange freezes set in.
The decision to hold rates at 7.5% was expected by a majority of analysts interviewed by Reuters, the news agency reported.
— Natasha Turak
Expect the unexpected with gas prices, EDP CEO says
We should “expect the unexpected” when it comes to gas prices according to Miguel Stilwell d’Andrade, CEO of Portuguese electric utilities company EDP.
Stilwell d’Andrade made the comments on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” while discussing EDP’s third quarter results and the turbulent energy market.
OMV shares gain 10% as third quarter profits nearly double
Shares of OMV rose 10.1% on news the Austrian oil, gas and chemicals company’s profits were better than expected in the third quarter.
OMV reported around 96% growth year on year, with an operating profit of 3.52 billion euros ($3.5 billion), as reported by Reuters.
Skyrocketing oil and gas prices helped to drive the increase.
— Hannah Ward-Glenton
German economy posts unexpected growth in third quarter
The German economy grew in the third quarter, going against expectations.
Gross domestic product increased by 0.3% from the previous quarter, despite the country tackling high inflation and energy concerns.
A poll by Reuters had anticipated a 0.2% contraction.
— Hannah Ward-Glenton
Natwest down 7% after reporting flat third quarter results
Natwest is down 7% after reporting flat third quarter results.
The British bank reported a £1.1 billion ($1.3 billion) profit, just missing analyst forecasts.
Natwest set aside an additional £247 million to reflect the difficult economic outlook in the U.K., which ate into profits.
— Hannah Ward-Glenton
We’re seeing a “mitigation of growth,” not a slowdown, says Bank of America CEO
Bank of America’s CEO Brian Moynihan said we’re seeing “a mitigation of growth” rather than a slowdown in an exclusive interview with “Squawk Box Europe.”
Coming up: Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan live on “Squawk Box Europe”
Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan will give an exclusive live interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” at 8.00 a.m. London time.
The bank released its third-quarter earnings on Oct. 17 and stressed that the resilience of the U.S. consumer was a reason to lower concerns for an economic recession.
You can watch the interview live on CNBC here.
— Hannah Ward-Glenton
European markets: Here are the opening calls
The FTSE 100 is expected to be down 32 points to 7,039 and Germany’s DAX 67 points lower at 13,155, according to data from IG. The CAC will be down 25 points to open at 6,226 and Italy’s MIB will be 89 points lower at 22,347.
CNBC Pro: Tech stocks are tumbling but one fund manager still loves Microsoft. Here’s why
Tech stocks have tumbled this week, as investor optimism fades following disappointing results from some of the sector’s biggest names.
But fund manager Brian Arcese is standing by Microsoft, calling it a “solid long term defensive holding.”
Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Zavier Ong
CNBC Pro: There’s a lot of pain ahead for markets, strategist warns
Investors should think twice before chasing the recent bounce in stocks, according to one strategist.
“I think the market rally is a breathing space rally,” Beat Wittmann, chairman of Switzerland’s Porta Advisors, told CNBC.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Jenni Reid
Chip stocks fall after U.S. official says allies could impose export limits on China soon
Bank of Japan keeps interest rates on hold as expected
Japan’s central bank left interest rates unchanged Friday, in line with predictions by economists in a Reuters poll.
The Bank of Japan also said it would purchase necessary amounts of Japanese government bonds at a fixed rate in order to keep 10-year JGB yields at 0%.
“The Bank will support financing, mainly of firms, and maintain stability in financial markets, and will not hesitate to take additional easing measures if necessary,” it said in its monetary policy statement.
— Jihye Lee
Read More: European markets lower after central bank rate hike and flurry of earnings reports