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The US stocks finished Friday with mixed results. The Dow Jones (US30) Index fell by 0.48% for the day and 0.42% for the week. The S&P 500 (US500) dropped by 0.32% on Friday and 0.12% for the week. The tech-heavy Nasdaq (US100) closed up by 0.08% for the day and 0.19% for the week. The US economy added just 22,000 jobs, falling short of the 75,000 prognoses, and the unemployment rate rose to 4.3%, signaling a cooling labor market. Traders quickly priced in the likelihood of an interest rate cut, with bets on a potential 50-basis-point (bps) reduction this month increasing. BofA Global Research expects the US Federal Reserve will cut rates twice by 25 bps in September and December, and predicts an additional 75 bps of easing in 2026.

Economically sensitive sectors led the decline, with banks, energy, and industrials falling, while real estate rose on optimism about rate cuts. Broadcom shares surged 9% after expecting significant AI-driven revenue growth, while Nvidia and AMD shares dropped 4% and 6.5%, respectively, following a warning from President Trump about substantial semiconductor tariffs. Lululemon fell 18.3% after a second profit warning, and major banks, including JPMorgan and Wells Fargo, were down more than 2.5%.

The Canadian dollar traded around 1.38 to the US dollar as US dollar weakness was offset by growing expectations for a more “dovish” stance from the Bank of Canada following an unexpected rise in unemployment. Bets on dovish action from the Bank of Canada increased after unemployment in August 2025 rose to its highest level since the pandemic at 7.1%, exceeding expectations of 7% and the 6.9% rate in July. This aligned with the Bank of Canada’s view that a labor supply surplus and growing risks from US tariffs and policy uncertainty could further worsen the country’s employment situation.

European stock markets were mostly lower on Friday. Germany’s DAX (DE40) fell by 0.73% (down -1.73% for the week), France’s CAC 40 (FR40) closed down 0.31% (down -0.65% for the week), Spain’s IBEX35 (ES35) dropped 0.45% (down -0.70% for the week), and the UK’s FTSE 100 (UK100) closed down 0.09% (up +0.23% for the week). Eurozone GDP grew by 1.5% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2025, higher than the initial estimate of 1.4%. Among the bloc’s largest economies, GDP increased by 0.2% in Germany, 0.8% in France, 0.4% in Italy, and 2.8% in Spain. Eurozone employment rose by 0.1% quarter-over-quarter, marking the 17th consecutive period of job growth and extending a slow but consistent trend of job creation in the European labor market. Among the largest economies, Spain saw the highest employment growth (0.7%), while Germany experienced a fourth consecutive month of stagnation, France saw a new stagnation, and Italy’s employment contracted (-0.1%).

WTI crude oil prices continued their third straight day of declines on Friday, falling 2.5% to $61.9 per barrel and marking their first weekly drop in three weeks. The decline followed a 2.4 million barrel build in US crude inventories, contrary to expectations, and came ahead of a Sunday OPEC+ meeting to consider an additional output increase. Reports suggest Saudi Arabia favors a production increase to regain market share, which could reverse some of the existing 1.65 million barrels per day in cuts. Geopolitical tensions are also affecting the market, with the US pressuring buyers of Russian oil and imposing new duties on imports from India. Expectations for new fields coming online in Guyana and Brazil are adding to the bearish sentiment.

The US natural gas prices (XNG/USD) fell to $3.05 per MMBtu on Friday, tracking declines in other energy commodities as pessimistic US labor market data capped demand prospects. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports from US ports rose to a record high of 9.33 tons amid elevated European demand and increased capacity at LNG plants following the end of maintenance at the Plaquemines facility. At the same time, the EIA noted that the US is expected to reach a new production peak of 91.4 billion cubic feet per day in 2025.

Asian markets were mostly down last week. Japan’s Nikkei 225 (JP225) rose by 1.55%, while China’s FTSE China A50 (CHA50) fell by 0.46%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HK50) dropped 0.35%, and Australia’s ASX 200 (AU200) ended the week down 0.87%.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announced he would resign after less than a year in office following two major electoral defeats. The announcement came a day before the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) was set to vote on a leadership ballot that could have forced his departure. The LDP has governed Japan for most of the last seven decades, but under Ishiba, it lost its majority in the lower house of parliament for the first time in 15 years, and then lost its majority in the upper house in July. Japan, the world’s fourth-largest economy and a key US ally, is now entering a period of political uncertainty amid rising tensions with China and heightened regional instability.

Vietnam’s annual inflation rate rose to 3.24% in August 2025, up from a three-month low of 3.19% in July. Meanwhile, core inflation, which excludes volatile items, declined to a four-month low of 3.25% in August from 3.30% in July. Monthly, consumer prices increased by 0.05%, down from the 0.11% gain in the previous month and marking the lowest increase in five months.

• S&P 500 (US500) 6,481.50 −20.58 (−0.32%)
• Dow Jones (US30) 45,400.86 −220.43 (−0.48%)
• DAX (DE40) 23,596.98 −173.35 (−0.73%)
• FTSE 100 (UK100) 9,208.21 −8.66 (−0.09%)
• USD Index 97.74 −0.61 (−0.62%)
   

News feed for: 2025.09.08

• Japan GDP (q/q) at 02:50 (GMT+3);
• China Trade Balance (m/m) at 06:00 (GMT+3);
• Germany Trade Balance (m/m) at 09:00 (GMT+3);
• Germany Industrial Production (m/m) at 09:00 (GMT+3).

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