07/09/2023
Today’s Announcements & News
Asia
On Thursday, Asia-Pacific markets displayed mixed performance, influenced by a sell-off on Wall Street and with anticipation regarding trade data from China and Australia.
Expectations for Chinese imports and exports in August are a decline of 9.2% and 9% year-on-year, respectively, as per a poll of economists by Reuters. These figures would be an improvement from the 14.5% and 12.4% drops in July.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 slid by 0.45% in anticipation of its August trade data release.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 made marginal gains after eight consecutive days of increases, while the Topix was 0.1% higher.
South Korea’s Kospi experienced a 0.12% loss, while the Kosdaq rose by 0.35%.
Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index remained largely flat, standing at 18,449, in comparison to the HSI’s close at 18,449.98.
US
Late on Wednesday, stock futures showed little change as renewed concerns about the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy and the possibility of another rate hike this year created uncertainty on Wall Street.
Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped by 28 points, equivalent to 0.08%. S&P 500 futures saw a minor dip of 0.07%, while Nasdaq futures declined by 0.1%.
During regular trading hours, technology stocks notably underperformed, leading to a 1.1% decline in the Nasdaq Composite and marking its third consecutive losing session. This decline was primarily due to more than a 3% drop in both Apple and Nvidia.
The increase in Treasury yields further pressured tech stocks and heightened concerns among investors that the Federal Reserve might respond to stronger-than-expected economic data by raising benchmark interest rates to curb inflation. The yield on the 2-year Treasury note rose by as much as 6 basis points on Wednesday.
Commodity
Oil prices saw a slight increase on Thursday, partly due to industry data indicating a decline in U.S. crude oil inventories, suggesting tightening supplies alongside extended production cuts in Saudi Arabia and Russia.
Market sources cited figures from the American Petroleum Institute, which projected a 5.5 million barrel decrease in U.S. crude oil inventories for the week ending September 1.
Official inventory data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration was scheduled for release at 11 a.m. EDT on Thursday.
Meanwhile, gold continued its decline for a fifth consecutive day, driven by rising yields and concerns about higher U.S. interest rates and global economic growth. Spot gold fell by 0.48% to $1,916.506, while U.S. gold futures settled 0.4% lower at $1,944.20.
The dollar remained near a six-month high, and 10-year Treasury yields were close to the levels seen on August 23. A stronger dollar makes gold more expensive for foreign investors, while higher yields reduce the appeal of non-yielding assets like gold.
The above analysis is only for the views of market researchers and is for reference only and is not regarded as a specific investment suggestion.
