Global Markets Update
- U.S. equity markets closed mostly lower overnight, with both the Dow Jones and S&P 500 down -0.1% and NASDAQ closing flat. U.S. consumer confidence dropped in August to a six-month low, suggesting concerns over the delta variant and elevated prices are weighing on Americans’ views of the economy now and in the coming months.
- Long-dated U.S. treasury yields were higher, with the 2-Yr yield at 0.207% and the 10-Yr yield at 1.309%.
- European markets. European equity markets closed lower overnight, with both the Stoxx Europe 600 and U.K. FTSE 100 down -0.4% and German DAX declining -0.3%, amid renewed worries over potential curbs to central bank stimulus after data showed euro-area inflation surged to the highest in a decade in August with CPI increasing +3% yoy and core CPI increasing +1.6% yoy, the highest since 2012. German unemployment fell for a fourth straight month in August, declining by 53k, pushing down the jobless rate by -10bps to 5.5%, the lowest since March 2020.
- Asian markets. Asian equity markets closed higher overnight, with the Hang Seng up +1.3%, Shanghai Composite up +0.4%, Nikkei 225 gaining +1.1% and KOSPI closing +1.8% higher. China’s economy took a knock from the delta virus outbreak in August, with PMI data revealing services industry contracted for the first time since February 2020 as consumers cut back on spending and travel amid new virus curbs and manufacturing index falling slightly to 50.1 partly due to supply-chain disruptions, adding to signs of a slowdown in growth in the second half of the year and fueling speculation of more central bank support. India’s GDP advanced +20.1% yoy in 2Q21 amid better-than-expected manufacturing performance and a milder hit to services, combined with a robust pace of vaccinations, keeping the nation very much on track to achieving the world’s fastest growth this year.
- WTI oil is trading at US$68.50 a barrel. Iron ore price is at US$150.21 per ton. Spot gold is trading at US$1,815 per oz.
ASX Market Update
- ASX performance. The ASX 200 closed +0.40% higher yesterday.
- Mesoblast Ltd (MSB) slumped -15.9%, after reporting FY21 net loss of $98.8m vs loss of $77.9m y/y.
- Today’s trading. In Australia, GDP data is to be published.