Live updates HSI leads gains; Li Keqiang dies

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index led other major benchmarks in Asia to trade higher by 2.54%, largely due to gains in health-care and real estate stocks.

The top gainer on the index was Sino Biopharmaceutical, which rose sharply by more than 11%.

Other top gainers included WuXi Biologics and Hansoh Pharmaceutical, which saw their share prices climb by 8.54% and 10.58% respectively.

China’s industrial profits fell in the first nine months from a year earlier, according to data released by the government.

Profits at industrial firms shrank by 9% in the January to September period from a year earlier, following an 11.7% profit year on year fall in profits for the first eight months.

The data highlights the challenges faced by China’s economy amid signs of a lackluster post-pandemic recovery.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

Australia’s producer prices climbed at a quicker pace during the third quarter, data released by the government on Friday showed.

The country’s PPI recorded 1.8% climb quarter-on-quarter, much hotter than the prior quarter’s 0.5% increase. Year-on-year it showed 3.8% growth, a tad cooler than a prior reading of 3.9%.

The PPI measures the change in the price of goods sold by manufacturers.

Earlier this week, consumer price inflation in Australia came in stronger than expected at 1.2% for the third quarter, forecasts of 1.1%.

The readings arrive ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s monetary policy decision on Nov. 7.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

The headline inflation rate in Japan’s capital of Tokyo came in at 3.3% for October, a faster pace of growth compared to the 2.8% seen in September.

Core inflation — which strips out prices of fresh food — stood at 2.7%, slightly higher than the 2.5% expected by economists polled by Reuters.

Tokyo’s inflation print is considered a leading indicator of nationwide trends, comes just before the Bank of Japan meets next Monday and Tuesday for its monetary policy meeting.

— Lim Hui Jie

High-yielding stocks have been doing well despite rising interest rates, according to asset management firm AllianceBernstein.

“We regard high equity yield as a more defensive and higher quality flavor of value which can act as a useful hedge against slowing growth or potentially a mild recession,” the firm’s analysts wrote in a recent note.

AllianceBernstein performed a screen of “High Combined Yield Stocks” in Europe for the final quarter of the year. Some that showed up were given “outperform” ratings.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more about them here.

— Amala Balakrishner

The energy transition will require more and better batteries, according to Bernstein.

A 25-fold increase in sales of batteries will be needed from 2022 — for the energy transition both in electric vehicles and energy storage, they said.

One type of battery technology will likely be an “iPhone moment” for the industry, the firm said, giving one of the stocks it named about 100% potential upside.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

U.S. GDP expanded by 4.9% annualized in the third quarter, beating a Dow Jones forecast for 4.7% growth. That expansion rate is also up from the 2.1% seen in the second quarter. This is the latest sign of economic resiliency despite the Federal Reserve’s moves to tighten monetary policy to tame inflation.

— Fred Imbert, Jeff Cox

Retail traders stepped up…