08/08/2023
Today’s Announcements & News
Asia
Asia-Pacific markets experienced a broad decline as investors turned their attention to China’s upcoming inflation figures and trade balance data this week. These releases are expected to provide insights into China’s ongoing recovery trajectory.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index managed a slight gain, but mainland Chinese markets all ended in negative territory. The Shanghai Composite index decreased by 0.59%, closing at 3,268.83, while the Shenzhen Component index fell by 0.83% to finish at 11,145.03.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index saw a modest increase of 0.19%, closing at 32,254.56, recovering from earlier losses during the day. The broader Topix index also rose by 0.41% to end at 2,283.93. The Bank of Japan, in its summary of opinions from its July 28 meeting, reiterated that it has a long way to go before considering any revisions to its negative interest rate policy.
Meanwhile, in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index slipped by 0.22%, settling at 7,309.2. South Korea’s Kospi index declined by 0.85%, closing at 2,580.7, marking its fourth consecutive day of losses. The Kosdaq index faced more significant losses, tumbling by 2.2% to conclude at 898.22.
US
The Dow Jones Industrial Average started the week on a positive note, driven by a combination of ongoing corporate earnings reports and important inflation data.
The blue-chip index surged by 407.51 points, or 1.16%, closing at 35,473.13. This marked the Dow’s strongest performance since June 15. Notably, Amgen’s nearly 4% rally contributed to the index’s gains.
The broader S&P 500 index also saw gains, rising by 0.9% to close at 4,518.44. However, the Nasdaq Composite index’s increase was more modest, climbing by 0.61% to reach 13,994.40. The Nasdaq’s gains were tempered by Tesla’s nearly 1% decline, triggered by the announcement of CFO Zach Kirkhorn’s resignation.
Commodity
Oil prices have retreated from their four-month highs as the recent rally in crude takes a pause.
The global benchmark, Brent futures, saw a 0.7% decrease, trading at $85.63 per barrel. This drop came after Brent reached its highest level since April. Meanwhile, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures also slipped by 0.7% to reach $82.24 per barrel.
Despite these declines, WTI has still managed to gain 1% in August, marking its third consecutive monthly increase. In the previous month of July, WTI experienced a substantial rally of over 15%.
On the other hand, gold prices faced some downward pressure on Monday, triggered by comments from Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman. She hinted that additional interest rate hikes might be necessary to control inflation.
At 03:28 p.m. EDT (1928 GMT), spot gold was down 0.3% at $1,936.44 per ounce. Similarly, U.S. gold futures settled 0.3% lower at $1,970.00.
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.
