Asia-Pacific markets mostly fall; oil pops on possible OPEC+ supply cut

Ahead of an OPEC+ meeting on Oct. 5, ANZ sees a “significant chance of a cut” as large as 1 million barrels per day, analysts at the firm said in a note.

That move is likely to be made “to counteract the excessive bearishness in the market.”

The note added that any production cuts below 500,000 barrels per day, however, would be “shrugged off by the market.”

–Jihye Lee

Exchange-traded funds offer the benefit of diversification, says Jon Maier, chief investment officer at Global X ETFs. He said the ETF market is “growing exponentially” and estimates it to be worth $10 trillion.

He names several opportunities for ETF investors in this volatile market.

Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Zavier Ong

Sentiment of Japan’s large manufacturers worsened in the July-to-September quarter, according to the Bank of Japan’s latest quarterly tankan business sentiment survey.

The headline index for large manufacturers’ sentiment came in at 8, a decline from the previous quarter’s reading of 9. Economists polled by Reuters expected a print of 11.

“Our expectation and market expectations were for the manufacturing reading to pick up — supply conditions had improved, you’ve seen fading supply impact from zero-Covid policies in China, commodity prices came down a little bit,” said Stefan Angrick, a senior economist at Moody’s Analytics.

“The fact that the manufacturing side of the economy isn’t doing so well certainly isn’t great for the outlook,” he told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia.”

But the non-manufacturing index ticked up slightly, which could mean Japan’s late Covid recovery is getting underway, he added.

— Abigail Ng

New research from HSBC says supply chains, geopolitical tensions, and worsening financial conditions have forced many global companies to “substantially” turn inward in search of resilient revenue and growth.

In a tough economic environment with recessionary pressures, the bank said turning inwards is “probably helpful” for these stocks.

The report titled ‘A de-globalisation wave?’ said European firms’ foreign sales dipped below 50% in 2021, the lowest level in the last five years.

With monetary policy set to tighten further in the months ahead, and Wall Street mired in the depths of a bear market abyss, many investors are beginning to wonder if now’s the time to exit the stock market and put their money in other asset classes.

CNBC Pro spoke to market watchers and scoured through research from investment banks to find out what the pros think.

Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Zavier Ong