Investors are now eyeing an update on US GDP and jobless claims
US stocks extended gains overnight, with the financial and energy companies leading the S&P 500 to another all-time high. The benchmark edged up 0.2% on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1% and the Nasdaq gained 0.15%. Investors are now looking toward the Federal Reserve’s annual convention in Jackson Hole, which begins today.
On the data front, US durable goods orders dropped 0.1% in July, slightly better than the -0.3% forecast and the prior month was left unchanged at 0.8%. Investors are now eyeing an update on US GDP and jobless claims on Thursday ahead of a speech by the Fed’s Powell on Friday.
Asian equities slipped Thursday despite Wall Street stocks rose to all-time highs for the second straight day. MSCI IC Asia-Pacific index snapped a three-day rally, with Chinese tech equities slumping on disappointing earnings. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained less than 0.1% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gave up 1.61%. The Shanghai Composite was down over 10.%. The Kospi in South Korea lost 0.8% after the country’s central bank raised its policy rate by 25 basis points.
In Europe, stocks opened lower today, with the pan-European STOXX 600 index falling 0.4% in early deals. Fresh data out of Germany showed that the GfK consumer sentiment index dropped to -1.2 points for September, from a revised -0.4 points a month earlier. As a reminder, Germany’s harmonized annual consumer prices rose 3.1% last month, hitting a 13-year high.
In currencies, the dollar is marginally higher today as risk sentiment deteriorated ahead of the Jackson Hole meeting. EURUSD was last seen flirting with the 20-DMA, staying above the 1.1750 region. If the 1.1780 area caps fresh bullish attempts in the short term, a pullback could be expected.
