Apple failed to impress investors by AI capabilities of its new iPhone 16
U.S. stocks rallied at the start of the week as investors preferred to buy the dip after last week’s ugly sell-off amid the resurgent recession fears. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.2% on Monday after losing more than 1,200 points last week. The S&P 500 gained 1.16%, and the Nasdaq Composite rallied 1.16%.
Tech shares were leading the gains overnight, with Nvidia gaining 3.5% after losing 14% last week. Palantir and Dell rallied 14% and 3.8%, respectively, after the reports that the stocks will join the S&P 500 index later this month. Apple finished just slightly higher after the company unveiled its new iPhone 16 with AI capabilities. The company’s product updates failed to impress investors.
In Asia, equities were mixed despite positive cues from Wall Street as investors were in part disappointed by tricky economic data from China where exports unexpectedly picked up pace in August, but imports missed forecasts, adding to worries about a sluggish domestic demand. As a result, Chinese stocks fell to seven-month lows during the session. Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained less than 0.1%, Australia’s ASX 200 added 0.3% to trim early gains after fresh data showed consumer sentiment worsened in early-September.
European stocks opened mostly in positive territory, with the Stoxx 600 index rebounding further after last week’s sell-off. The regional benchmark was up 0.3% in early deals, extending yesterday’s gains. On the negative side, the FTSE 100 was down 0.5% as investors digested the latest UK jobs data. The report showed that growth in average earnings fell to 5.1%, hitting a two-year low. Elsewhere, inflation in Germany was confirmed at the lowest level in 3.5 years last month. The CPI dipped below the 2% mark for the first time since March 2021.
In other markets, the US dollar looks steady after a rally witnessed at the start of the week. The USD index extended its recovery from mid-2023 lows to settle back above the 101.00 figure. The greenback climbed to the 101.70 zone that represents the immediate upside target for bulls. Now, traders shift their focus to the upcoming US CPI report that will set direction for USD pairs and could affect Fed rate cut expectations. Potentially weak figures would put the dollar back under pressure later in the week.
