Investors also will keep an eye on shares of Europe’s most valuable company, Novo Nordisk, after U.S. and British regulators both gave the thumbs up to Eli Lilly‘s weight-loss treatment Zepbound on Wednesday. The approval paves the way for a powerful rival to blockbuster drug Wegovy in addressing record obesity rates.
In Asia, China’s property stocks are back in the spotlight. They rose late on Wednesday after Reuters reported China’s State Council had instructed the local government of Guangdong province to help arrange a rescue of Country Garden by Ping An Insurance Group.
Ping An subsequently said in a statement to Reuters it had “not been asked by (the) Government to take over Country Garden”.
On Thursday, shares of Ping An extended declines. Country Garden and other property stocks gave up some gains from a day earlier.
Meanwhile, data on Thursday showed China‘s consumer prices fell and factory-gate deflation persisted in October, indicating pressure on demand has picked up as the world’s second-largest economy struggles to emerge from a post-pandemic slump.
Elsewhere, Hollywood actors reached a tentative agreement with major studios on Wednesday to resolve the second of two strikes that have rocked the entertainment industry this year as workers demanded higher pay in the streaming TV era.
