Hi good morning and a warm welcome.
Sage for Kalkine TV, reporting to you live from Sydney, and you’re watching Global
Markets Roundup.
Let’s dive into some key highlights and happenings from yesterday.
Starting with the US market.
A gauge of global equities headed for its seventh consecutive month of gains on Tuesday,
but stocks and the dollar traded flat on the day as weak economic data suggested slower
growth ahead as investors await a U.S. jobs report at week's end.
MSCI's all-country world index traded up 0.04 percent , on track for another closing record
high and its seventh month of consecutive gains.
Benchmark US indices closed lower on Tuesday, August 31, after blue-chip technology stocks
retreated amid coronavirus fears and new economic data showed declining consumer confidence.
The S&P 500 fell 0.13 percent to 4,522.68.
The Dow Jones shed 0.11 percent to 35,360.73.
The NASDAQ Composite Index fell 0.04 percent to 15,259.24, and the small-cap Russell 2000
gained 0.34 percent to 2,273.77.
Delta virus fears weighed on traders' sentiments Tuesday.
In addition, investors took cues from the latest consumer confidence data released by
the Conference Board, a non-profit market research organisation.
According to its data, consumer confidence dropped to 113.8 points in August from 125.1
in July, the steepest fall since February, indicating a sharp drop in consumer spending.
Also, the housing price index of the Federal Housing Finance Agency jumped 18.8 percent
YoY in June, it said on Tuesday.
The index rose 17.4 percent in the second quarter compared to the year-ago quarter,
driven by increasing demand and limited supplies.
Real estate and consumer stocks were the biggest gainers on S&P 500.
Healthcare and technology stocks were the bottom movers.
The index recorded its seventh consecutive monthly gains in August, marking its longest
winning streak since January 2018.
Moving on to Futures & Commodities
Gold futures were up 0.29 percent to US$1,817.45 per ounce.
Silver decreased by 0.22 percent to US$23.953 per ounce, while copper fell 0.19 percent
to US$4.3673.
Brent oil futures decreased by 0.84 percent to US$71.62 per barrel and WTI crude was down
0.98 percent to US$68.53.
Looking at the Bond Market now
The 30-year Treasury bond yields was up 1.44 percent to 1.926, while the 10-year bond yields
rose 1.93 percent to 1.309.
US Dollar Futures Index increased by 0.01 percent to US$92.657.
And now, its time for a small break but stay tuned as I’ll be back with the Asia and
Australia market updates.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ Welcome back.
I’m Sage and you are watching the Global Markets Roundup show.
European stocks fell on Tuesday as a spike in inflation caused jitters about a possible
shift in monetary policy, but nevertheless rose nearly 2 percent in August on strong
quarterly earnings and optimism over an economic recovery.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed 0.4 percent lower, but marked a seventh straight
month of gains in its best monthly winning streak since 2013.
The London markets traded on a mixed note after the release of weak Chinese factory
data.
According to the latest figures from the Bank of England, the mortgage approvals had dropped
from 80,272 in June 2021 to 75,152 during July 2021.
Computacenter shares went up by about 3.80 percent after the Company stated in an unscheduled
trading update that the FY21 adjusted pre-tax profit would remain around 10 percent ahead
of the prior year.
FTSE 100 listed Bunzl shares dropped by around 2.09 percent, even after the Company had reported
a significant growth in top-line revenue and adjusted pre-tax profit during the first half.
Benchmark German bond yields rose to the highest in over five weeks on Tuesday after a higher-than-expected
inflation reading and an ECB policymaker called on the bank to reduce its emergency bond purchases
as soon as the next quarter.
Germany's 10-year yield, the benchmark for the euro area, rose 5 basis points to a high
of -0.383 percent the highest since Jul 22.
Japanese shares reclaimed lost ground on Tuesday to end their 11-month-long anomaly of closing
lower on the last trading day of the month, helped by stronger Asian peers and domestic
political developments.
The Nikkei share average climbed 1.08 percent to 28,089.54, closing above the 28,000 level
for the first time since Aug. 12.
The broader Topix gained 0.54 percent to 1,960.70.
China blue-chips fell on Tuesday after data showed the services sector in the world's
second-biggest economy slumped into contraction and as analysts noted that Beijing's scrutiny
over online gaming would affect the long-term growth of the industry.
At the close, the blue-chip CSI300 index ended 0.16 percent lower, with the consumer staples
sector down 1.58 percent and the healthcare sub-index down 1.98 percent.
South Korean stocks posted their biggest daily jump in more than five months on Tuesday,
led by tech shares and strong buying by foreign investors.
The benchmark KOSPI ended up 55.08 points, or 1.75 percent, at 3,199.27, marking its
sharpest intraday gain since March 11 and extending gains to a third straight session.
Australian shares to open lower on Wednesday, tracking weak cues from Wall Street after
US and Chinese economic data suggested slower growth ahead.
The Australian mining and energy stocks expected to drop due to lower commodity prices.
Aussie investors now await gross domestic product data (GDP) for the second quarter
scheduled to be released on Wednesday.
Bega Cheese, Endeavour Group, IRESS, and Treasury Wine Estates are a few companies that are
going ex-dividend on Wednesday.
Crude oil prices fell ahead of the meeting of Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries
(OPEC) and its allies on Wednesday.
Brent futures fell to US$72.99 a barrel, while WTI crude settled down at US$68.50 a barrel.
Energy stocks such as Woodside Petroleum and Santos Ltd could trade lower on Wednesday.
Gold strengthened on Tuesday as the dollar weakened.
Spot gold was up 0.2 percent at US$1,814.42 per ounce.
US gold futures finished up 0.3 percent at US$1,818.1
ASX-listed gold stocks such as Northern Star Resources and Newcrest Mining could trade
higher on Wednesday.
Benchmark iron ore futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange slipped 5 percent to 808 yuan a tonne.
London Metal Exchange (LME) copper rose 1.3 percent to US$9,530 a tonne, zinc was flat
at US$3,002, lead fell 1.5 percent to US$2,262 and tin surged by 1 percent to US$33,900.
Well, that’s all for now.
Keep watching Kalkine TV for more market updates.