Photo by American Public Power Association on Unsplash
 

At Friday's close, the Dow Jones (US30) index increased by 0.07% (-2.19% for the week), while the S&P 500 (US500) index was down by 0.02% (-1.98% for the week). The Nasdaq Technology Index (US100) closed Friday negative 0.20% (-2.27% for the week). August is a seasonally weak month for stock indices, and this time is no exception. This is partly due to the vacation period in the banking sector. Partly it is because the latest economic data in the US showed that the economy is not in danger of recession in the near future. As a result, rising government bond yields have lifted the dollar index, causing stock indices to decline.

The Jackson Hole Symposium is scheduled to begin on Thursday of this week. Various academics, bank chiefs, and central bank governors gather to discuss monetary policy and financial markets. The policymakers will give their interviews at the end of the conference. These interviews could cause significant volatility as they could foreshadow future monetary policy dynamics. In particular, investors will be waiting for Fed Chairman Jerome Powell to speak to clarify the economic outlook and the future trajectory of interest rates.

Equity markets in Europe were mostly down on Friday. Germany's DAX (DE40) decreased by 0.65% (-1.54% for the week), France's CAC 40 (FR40) fell by 0.38% (-2.22% for the week) on Friday, Spain's IBEX 35 (ES35) fell by 0.19% (-1.73% for the week), and the UK's FTSE 100 (UK100) closed on negative 0.65% (-3.48% for the week). This week, a slew of manufacturing and service sector business activity data will be released on Wednesday. This data could provide insight into whether the European Central Bank will raise interest rates again in September and whether the Bank of England will decide to raise rates more aggressively at its next meeting.

On Friday, crude oil prices broke a seven-week winning streak. Investors are now focused on the distinct possibility of lower energy demand rather than the certainty of supply cuts. Over the past few weeks, increasingly contradictory economic news has come out of China, crowned by the release of alarming consumer price data indicating that the country is in complete deflation. Problems at some significant real estate construction companies further underscore the slowdown in China's economic recovery. Over the weekend, another major real estate developer Country Garden found itself in the grip of a debt crisis. China is the world's largest energy importer, and any sign of economic stagnation will always be bad news for oil bulls.

Asian markets were also down last week. Japan's Nikkei 225 (JP225) fell by 3.10% for the week, China's FTSE China A50 (CHA50) lost 0.88%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng (HK50) ended the week down by 3.99%, and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 (AU200) ended the week on negative 2.62%.

On Monday, the People's Bank of China (PBoC) lowered the benchmark one-year lending rate (LPR) to 3.45% from 3.55% previously (3.40% expected). Meanwhile, China's Central Bank kept the five-year interest rate unchanged at 4.20%. The rate cut is being implemented to support economic development, which is a positive for Chinese stocks. It is also a positive factor for countries with close trade cooperation with China, Singapore, New Zealand, and Australia.

• S&P 500 (F)(US500) 4,369.71 −0.65 (−0.02%)
• Dow Jones (US30) 34,500.66 +25.83 (+0.075%)
• DAX (DE40)  15,574.26 −102.64 (−0.65%)
• FTSE 100 (UK100) 7,262.43 −47.78 (−0.65%)
• USD Index  102.85 +0.33 (+0.32%)
   

Important events for today:

• New Zealand Trade Balance (q/q) at 01:45 (GMT+3);
• China PBoC Loan Prime Rate at 04:15 (GMT+3);
• German Producer Price Index (m/m) at 09:00 (GMT+3).

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