CNBC Daily Open: Moving past sticky core inflation

This report is from today's CNBC Daily Open, our international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe  here .

Stubborn core inflation
Prices in the U.S. rose 0.2% in August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported, in line with the Dow Jones consensus. The 12-month inflation rate was at 2.5%, the lowest since February 2021. However, core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, ticked up 0.3%, 10 basis points higher than expected.

Rebound rally
Major U.S. indexes closed higher in a choppy session on Wednesday, lifted by technology stocks. Asia-Pacific markets were trading higher on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 jumped 3.43% and the Taiwan Weighted Index rose 3%. Chip-related Asian stocks including Tokyo Electron, Advantest and TSMC rose, tracking the rally in U.S. technology stocks.

UBS CEO sees soft landing
Sergio Ermotti, Group CEO of UBS Group AG, told CNBC that investors expecting the Fed to cut rates aggressively are getting "ahead of the curve." Sticky inflation remains the "most important" issue, he added – August's core CPI surprised to the upside. However, Ermotti still sees "the outlook [as] pretty consistent with a soft landing."

Harris or Trump? Little difference for China
Regardless of who wins the U.S. Presidential elections, the country's trade ties with China will remain tense, said Carlos Casanova, senior economist at Swiss private bank UBP. Donald Trump has proposed tariffs of up to 100%, while Kamala Harris is expected to stick with Joe Biden's tariff policy that not only retained Trump-era tariffs but also escalated them.

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