30/08/2023
Today’s Announcements & News
Asia
The Asia-Pacific markets saw widespread gains as Wall Street had a successful day on Monday. Leading the way were Hong Kong and Mainland Chinese stocks, which built on their Monday performance.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index surged approximately 2% during its final hour of trading. Meanwhile, on the mainland, the CSI 300 index increased by 1%, closing at 3,790.11. Notably, the Shenzhen Component finished the day up 2.17% at 10,454.98, largely driven by tech stocks.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index also experienced a modest rise of 0.18% after leading gains in Asia on Monday, closing at 32,226.97. The Topix index followed suit with a 0.16% increase, ending at 2,303.41.
However, Japan’s unemployment rate for July exceeded expectations, coming in at 2.7% compared to the anticipated 2.5% according to a Reuters poll.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index climbed 0.71%, concluding at 7,210.5. South Korea’s Kospi index also saw gains, rising 0.34% to close at 2,552.16, while the Kosdaq index finished 0.75% higher at 916.24.
US
On Tuesday, the Nasdaq Composite rebounded, surging over 1% as investors returned to tech stocks in the closing days of a challenging August for the market.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq index rose by 1.74%, closing at 13,943.76. The broader S&P 500 also had a strong day, gaining 1.45% to close at 4,497.63, marking its best performance since June 2. The Dow Jones Industrial Average followed suit, adding 292.69 points or 0.85%, concluding the session at 34,852.67.
Notable in this tech resurgence, chipmaker Nvidia led the charge with a gain of over 4%. Stocks of Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook), Tesla, Apple, and Microsoft also finished the day in positive territory. This sector seemed to benefit from declining bond yields following the release of new U.S. economic data.
Furthermore, AT&T saw a 3.9% rise after Citi upgraded the stock, citing the telecom giant’s ability to maintain its substantial dividend. In another sector, Best Buy’s shares increased by 3.8% after the retailer reported better-than-expected earnings.
Commodity
On Tuesday, oil prices surged by more than a dollar per barrel, partly due to a weakening greenback, while investors discussed the potential impact of Hurricane Idalia, set to strike Florida this week.
Brent crude futures increased by $1.11, equivalent to 1.3%, closing at $85.53 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures settled at $81.24 per barrel, marking a gain of $1.14 or 1.4%.
Additionally, gold reached a three-week high on Tuesday as the dollar and Treasury yields declined following weaker labor market data, which raised doubts about the likelihood of another interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve. Spot gold rose by 0.9% to $1,937.1907 per ounce, and U.S. gold futures also saw a 0.9% increase, reaching $1,965.50.
The dollar lost ground against its counterparts, reversing earlier gains, after reports showed a decline in U.S. job openings for July. Concurrently, the benchmark 10-year Treasury yields also moved lower.
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.
