Live updates, Singapore inflation, Australia PMI

Shares of Chinese tech giant Alibaba in Hong Kong are little changed after news that founder Jack Ma held off on plans to trim his stake in the Chinese e-commerce giant after the share price fell.

The firm’s Hong Kong listed shares inched down 0.26% compared with their last close of 76.85 Hong Kong dollars ($9.86) on Wednesday.

According to an internal memo seen by CNBC, Alibaba’s Chief People Officer Jane Jiang told employees that Ma has not sold a single share, and that Alibaba’s stock is currently trading below the company’s actual value, Jiang added, citing this as a reason Ma has not cut his stake.

Alibaba’s regulatory filings on Nov. 16 revealed Ma is looking to sell 10 million shares at a value of around $870 million.

Read the full story here.

— Lim Hui Jie, Arjun Kharpal

Asian stock markets may have had a weak year, but excessive cash in the region’s companies is a hidden opportunity for investors, according to Jefferies.

“When a company hoards cash on its balance sheet, its PE valuations look lot more expensive than what it should be, without the excess cash,” the investment bank’s analysts wrote.

Jefferies screened for Asian companies with “significant ex-cash value and strong fundamentals,” and which it said make “good candidates” for buybacks and dividends.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Amala Balakrishner

Stocks are riding high on hopes the Federal Reserve is done with its tightening campaign. However, one market observer warned investors to keep an eye on earnings as the economy starts to show signs of slowing.

“At some point, you know, of course, a slowdown becomes a victim of its own success, so to speak,” Jack Ablin, investment chief at Cresset Capital, said Wednesday on CNBC’s “Power Lunch.” The investor pointed to same-store sales growth that has matched inflation over the last 12 months.

“What that really means is there’s no volume growth and that all of the revenue increases that a lot of retailers and other companies have enjoyed over the last 12 months was simply pricing power,” Ablin added. “Well, if now prices roll over, and we see that downtrend, that could start to hurt earnings and profit margins.”

The investment chief recommended investors stick to high-quality growth companies with healthy, and growing, dividends. He favors names such as medical device maker Medtronic, water company Ecolab and pharmaceutical stock AbbVie.

— Sarah Min

One part of artificial intelligence will have an increasing role to play, according to Morgan Stanley.

The trend can help save costs, reduce latency (or lag time), among other benefits, Morgan Stanley said.

It named six companies that are set to be key beneficiaries of this trend and likely to outperform in 2024 and 2025.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

Energy stocks underperformed in the S&P 500 on Wednesday.

The sector slipped 0.4%, making it the worst performing of the 11 that comprise the broad index. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 has climbed about 0.3%.

EOG Resources and Baker Hughes led the sector down with drops larger than 1% each. Occidental Petroleum and Halliburton were the next worst performers, with both shedding about 0.9%.

About two out of every three stocks in the energy sector traded lower. On the other hand, Valero Energy was the best performer in the sector, climbing 1.7% in the session.

— Alex Harring

U.S. crude prices declined Wednesday after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries delayed a key meeting on production cuts.

The West Texas Intermediate contract for January fell 67 cents, or .86%, to settle at $77.10 a barrel,…