Asia
Markets in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly China, have become increasingly decoupled from the US, where daily records are being set.
The Shanghai Composite Index has been under pressure of late and today lost over 1% to close at 2,737 points. The index is on track to close the month of August down and is over 600 points lower than at the start of 2018.
In recent months a gain in the Nasdaq has led to a rise in the tech-focused Hang Seng in Hong Kong. But today the index tracked China lower.
Japan’s jobless rate is expected to remain at 2.4% for July, as well as the Tokyo Consumer Price Index. Industrial production figures will also be released.
Emerging market stocks and currencies were under pressure today, including the Indian rupee, as the Argentine peso plunged against the dollar.
Europe
The FTSE 100 lost ground in early trading as the pound moved back above $1.30. After many months of impasse between the EU and the UK over Brexit, more optimistic noises from the Brussels side have been seized on by currency traders. Sterling has fallen sharply since April against the dollar from $1.40 to below $1.30, which has helped support the FTSE 100’s dollar earners.
Recruiter Hays (HAS) lost nearly 5% today after releasing full-year results.
Eurozone indices also fell, with Germany’s Dax losing the most in percentage terms. Economic confidence fell in the currency bloc in August. Confidence among eurozone service firms fell on the month and came in below forecasts.
North America
A first-time close above 2,900 points for the S&P 500 is a new milestone for the index, which has set new records in recent trading sessions. But it is set to open lower trading, according to futures, as the weaker sentiment from Asia spills over into global markets.
US retailers are in focus today amid a number of earnings reports, including Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF).
Today brings Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) numbers for July, while Canadian GDP figures for June are also in view. Weekly initial jobless claims to 25 August will also be released
:quality(80)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/morningstar/WDFTRL6URNGHXPS3HJKPTTEHHU.png)
:quality(80)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/morningstar/SJ4TPTNUHRHMDOLNIMADKA7WW4.jpg)
:quality(80)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/morningstar/AY4IODDAJRDHVPZMQKMI3BD5JE.png)
