stocks, news, data and ECB decision

Shares of Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk rose 4.5% in morning trade after it said it was expanding its focus to include cardiovascular disease treatment after a late-stage trial showed its Ozempic weight-loss drug delayed progression of chronic kidney disease in diabetes patients.

New data released Thursday also showed the company’s experimental Amycretin drug boosted weight loss by 13%, according to Reuters.

Shares of Eli Lilly fell 2% in pre-market trade as competition heats up between the two major players in the obesity drug market.

— Karen Gilchrist

Shares of financial services firm Virgin Money jumped 36% in early deals on news that it would be acquired by British bank Nationwide for £2.9 billion ($3.7 billion).

On the other end, French office services and call center company Teleperformance sank 17.7% after missing its full-year revenue target for 2023 and pointing to limited growth in the year ahead.

CEO Daniel Julien dismissed reports that artificial intelligence innovation posed a risk to the business. “AI is going to help you gather the data … [but it] doesn’t make the decisions,” he told CNBC.

— Karen Gilchrist

External shocks, such as as geopolitical events or still restrictive monetary policy, could undermine growing confidence in the IPO market, investment firm Raymond James said Thursday.

“Exogenous shocks remain a real threat,” Sunaina Sinha Haldea, global head of private capital advisory, told CNBC. She added that technical flows — or sudden outflows of investment from one market to another — also risk causing disruption even as money begins to return to the market.

— Karen Gilchrist

U.K. house prices increased for the fifth consecutive month in February, in a sign that momentum is returning to the lacklustre real estate market, new data showed Thursday.

The average U.K. house price rose by 0.4% in February, marking an increase of 1.7% year-on-year, according to Halifax House Price Index.

Halifax Mortgages director Kim Kinnaird said that the data suggests cautious confidence is returning to the market in anticipation of a reduction in interest rates later this year.

“These figures continue to suggest a relatively stable start to 2024 and align with other promising signs of increased housing activity, such as mortgage approvals,” she said.

— Karen Gilchrist

India’s economic prospects are shining bright, attracting global investors eager to capitalize on the country’s immense growth potential.

The International Monetary Fund expects India’s real gross domestic product (GDP) to expand by 6.5% in 2024. 

However, tapping into these opportunities as a foreign investor is not as straightforward as buying shares listed on the Indian stock exchanges. Limits on foreign ownership, complex tax implications, and corporate governance concerns create barriers.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more about how foreign investors can buy Indian stocks.

— Ganesh Rao

Many growth stocks are becoming expensive, prompting some investors to turn to value stocks.

“The S&P 500 at 5,075 with expected earnings growth of 10% for 2024 gives us $243 a share and puts us at 21X earnings – its pricey, plain, and simple,” said Brian Szytel, senior managing director of The Bahnsen Group, in late February. The S&P 500 closed around 5,078 on Tuesday.

He said he wouldn’t own the index at that level. “I would however, own parts of the market shift to more value-oriented names and believe that rotation that started in 2022 from growth to value will resume. This is a time to earn ‘carry’, income, and dividends,” he said.

Those interested in value stocks can consider the following from CNBC Pro’s screen of the Vanguard Value ETF. All have 20% or more upside and a buy rating of at least 50%,…