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Asia markets mixed after Fed minutes show no indication of rate cuts

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This is CNBC's live blog covering Asia-Pacific markets.

Asia-Pacific markets were mixed after minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's Oct. 31 meeting revealed that policy officials maintained that monetary policy had to be restrictive and had little appetite for rate cuts.

"In discussing the policy outlook, participants continued to judge that it was critical that the stance of monetary policy be kept sufficiently restrictive to return inflation to the Committee's 2 percent objective over time," the minutes said. The federal funds rate currently stands at 5.25%-5.5%.

Japan's Nikkei 225 rebounded from two straight days of losses to rise 0.29% and end at 33,451.83, while the Topix added 0.44% to 2,378.19.

South Korea's Kospi climbed marginally, marking a third day of gains and closing at 2,511.7. In contrast, the Kosdaq shed 0.29%, ending the day at 814.61.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was flat, while China's CSI 300 index closed 1.02% lower at 3,544.42.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was down marginally, reversing earlier gains and closing at 7,073.4.

In the U.S., all three major indexes lost ground following the Fed announcement, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite snapping a string of five consecutive winning days.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.18%, while the S&P dipped 0.2%. The tech heavy Nasdaq fell 0.59%, a day after leading a tech fueled rally on Wall Street.

— CNBC's Hakyung Kim and Brian Evans contributed to this report.

We are 'really positive' about Vietnam in the long term, PropertyGuru says

PropertyGuru, a Singapore-based online property portal, reported 13% year-over-year revenue growth, reaching 39 million Singapore dollars ($29.1 million) in the third quarter. Revenue from Singapore's property market increased to SG$22.5 million in the third quarter, helping to offset a decrease in revenue from the Vietnamese market, the company reported.

"Singapore has been sort of pretty robust to date, although we are noticing a little bit more supply coming into the market, probably demand is dropping off a little bit ... but fundamentally, it's a strong property market," Joe Dische, chief financial officer at PropertyGuru told CNBC's "Squawk Box Asia."

Dische noted that although Malaysia and Vietnam are going through some some short-term headwinds, the company is still "very positive" on the long-term prospects of both countries.

Vietnam's marketplace revenue decreased 32.9% year-over-year to SG$4.1 million in the third quarter and the country is not expected to make recovery in 2023, PropertyGuru stated in its report. Nonetheless, Dische believes that down the road, Vietnam's "market will come back and we'll get a lot of additional revenue quite quickly."

Quek Jie Ann

Japan expects economy to recover at moderate pace

Japan's government said it expects the economy to recover but only at a moderate pace.

"The Japanese economy is recovering at a moderate pace, although it recently appears to be pausing in part," Japan's Cabinet Office said in a press release.

A global economic slowdown amid monetary policy tightening cycles and waning prospects of a speedier recovery in China were mentioned as key risks to Japan's growth.

"The Government will accelerate the initiative of new capitalism to transform the economy from a cost-cutting economy that has been in place for 30 years to a growth-oriented economy driven by sustained wage increases and active investment," the press release said.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

Singapore's economy grows faster than expected in third quarter

Singapore's gross domestic product grew 1.1% year on year in the third quarter, beating advance estimates of 0.7% and higher than the 0.5% growth seen in the second quarter.

The 1.1% rate was also higher than expectations from economists polled by Reuters, which expected growth of 0.7%.

Government data showed that on a quarter-on-quarter, seasonally-adjusted basis, GDP climbed 1.4%, sharply higher than the 0.1% seen in the second quarter.

Following the results, Singapore's trade and industry ministry revised its GDP growth forecast for Singapore to "around 1%" for 2023, from 0.5%-1.5% previously.

— Lim Hui Jie

CNBC Pro: Forget Big Tech? Fund manager names 6 lesser-known tech stocks to buy instead

Big Tech names have been getting a lot of love this year, with investors piling into the so-called Magnificent Seven stocks.

One portfolio manager, however, is shifting his focus to other tech players — particularly small mid-cap names.

"I would probably balance between large cap stocks and start to be more constructive on small mid-cap stocks by increasing my exposure to them," Karen Kharmandarian, senior portfolio manager at Thematics Asset Management, told CNBC Pro.

CNBC Pro subscribers can discover some of his favorite stocks here.

— Amala Balakrishner

CNBC Pro: As the hype around 'solid-state' EV batteries grows, UBS reveals the global stocks to play it

Investment bank UBS has identified and named the stocks set to benefit from the growth of next-generation 'solid-state' battery technology electric vehicles.

Solid-state batteries are seen as a potential breakthrough technology because they can store more energy than lithium-ion batteries and charge faster. While researchers have known about the technology for decades, commercialization on a large scale has not yet been possible.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more about the UBS analyst stock picks here.

— Ganesh Rao

Fed gives no indication of rate cuts in latest minutes

The Federal Reserve released the minutes from its Oct. 31-Nov. 1, which showed the central bank didn't give an indication of possible rate hikes coming.

"In discussing the policy outlook, participants continued to judge that it was critical that the stance of monetary policy be kept sufficiently restrictive to return inflation to the Committee's 2 percent objective over time," the minutes stated.

— Jeff Cox

CNBC Pro: These big names in retail could get hit by Temu's surging growth, Bank of America says

Explosive growth of Temu, the U.S. arm of Chinese e-commerce giant Pinduoduo, could spell trouble for some major retailers, according to Bank of America.

Consumers have welcomed Temu's rapid growth, but competitors are likely to lose market share and could see smaller profits in the near future.

The Wall Street bank named retailers that are vulnerable to the Chinese e-commerce app's rise — and those likely to be insulated from it.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Ganesh Rao

Oil settles flat as traders await OPEC meeting

Oil prices were largely unchanged Tuesday after rallying the past two sessions as traders await a meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries later this week.

The Brent crude contract for January rose 13 cents, or .16%, to settle at $82.45 a barrel Tuesday, while the West Texas Intermediate contract for January fell 6 cents, or .08%, to settle at $77.77 a barrel.

OPEC and its allies, OPEC+, will meet Sunday amid speculation that the group could implement deeper production cuts as oil prices have dropped significantly since September amid demand concerns.

A senior official at the International Energy Agency told Reuters Tuesday that global oil market will see a slight supply surplus in 2024 even if OPEC+ countries extend their current production cuts into next year.

-- Spencer Kimball

Tech sector leads S&P 500 losses Tuesday

The technology sector was the biggest decliner in the S&P 500 during Tuesday's trading session, declining 1.1% against the broad market index's 0.3% decline. This marked the tech sector's worst day since Oct. 26.

Semiconductor stocks fell broadly Tuesday. On Semiconductor, Qualcomm, Monolithic Power Systems and Intel all lost 2.5% and more.

— Hakyung Kim

High rates continue to pressure home sales

October's weaker-than-expected housing data indicates home buyers are feeling pressured by high rates. Existing home sales fell to their lowest level since August 2010 and declined more than 14% year-over-year.

"The confluence of high prices, high interest rates, and stubbornly low inventory are flash frying home buying now," said Jamie Cox, managing partner for Harris Financial Group.

He added that "if rates fall next year, housing will snap back." Fed funds futures pricing suggests that the Federal Reserve will hold rates steady at its upcoming December meeting.

— Hakyung Kim

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