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Wall Street extended its record-breaking streak on Monday, fueled by optimism in megacap companies. The Dow Jones (US30) gained 0.14%, the S&P 500 (US500) rose 0.44%, and the Nasdaq (US100) was up 0.55%. Nvidia shares surged 4% after announcing an investment of up to $100 billion in OpenAI, while Oracle jumped 6.3% following a leadership change and continued enthusiasm for AI. Apple shares increased by 4.3% on strong demand for the iPhone 17, and Tesla climbed 1.9%, reaching its 2025 high as investors anticipated new product launches and enhancements to its self-driving system.

U.S. President Donald Trump is set to announce this week that the deal to sell TikTok’s US operations to its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, complies with the 2024 law. Under the plan, ByteDance will hold less than a 20% stake, and TikTok US will be controlled by a group of existing American and international companies, as well as new investors not affiliated with ByteDance. Key investors include Oracle and Silver Lake, with Trump specifically highlighting US backers like Lachlan Murdoch, Larry Ellison, and Michael Dell. Trump will sign an executive order confirming the legality of the deal, which mandates storing US user data in Oracle’s cloud infrastructure.

European stock markets were mostly down on Monday. Germany’s DAX (DE40) fell by 0.48%, France’s CAC 40 (FR40) closed 0.30% lower, Spain’s IBEX35 (ES35) declined 1.17%, while the UK’s FTSE 100 (UK100) had closed 0.11% higher. Carmakers faced losses after Porsche lowered its profit outlook for the year and delayed an EV launch due to weak demand, causing its shares to fall 7.2%. Volkswagen shares, a major Porsche shareholder, dropped 7.1%, and Stellantis fell more than 2%. Meanwhile, BBVA underperformed tech stocks, dropping 2.7% after raising its offer to acquire Banco Sabadell by 10% to €17 billion.

WTI crude oil prices were trading around $62 a barrel as traders weighed geopolitical risks against concerns over tariffs and slowing demand. Over the weekend, reports of Russian airstrikes on western Ukraine near the Polish border, airspace violations in Estonia, and a Russian military plane entering neutral Baltic airspace heightened fears of further regional escalation. Adding to the tension, the EU introduced its 19th package of sanctions against Russia on Friday, including a ban on LNG imports and restrictions on 118 additional shadow vessels. In the Middle East, geopolitical uncertainty also remained a focus as several countries officially recognized the state of Palestine ahead of a UN summit.

Asian markets were mostly higher yesterday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 (JP225) rose by 0.99%, China’s FTSE China A50 (CHA50) gained 0.45%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HK50) fell by 0.76%, and Australia’s ASX 200 (AU200) closed 0.43% higher.

On Tuesday, the Australian dollar weakened to above the $0.658 level, giving up gains from the previous session as investors digested disappointing PMI data. Preliminary estimates showed the composite PMI fell to 52.1 in September from 55.5 in August. Market attention is now focused on the monthly CPI Index, due on Wednesday, which will clarify whether the inflation spike in July was caused by the end of electricity subsidies or broader price pressures. If inflation remains high or accelerates, expectations for an RBA rate cut could be pushed into next year.

Malaysia’s annual inflation rate rose to 1.3% in August 2025 from 1.2% in the previous month, its highest reading since April and in line with market expectations. Food prices increased 2.0% year-over-year, slightly above the ten-month low of 1.9% in July. On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.1%, matching the gain from the previous four months.

Singapore’s annual inflation rate eased to 0.5% in August 2025, below market expectations and the 0.6% recorded in the previous month. The latest figure marked the lowest inflation level since January 2021. On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.5% in August. Meanwhile, annual core inflation declined to 0.3% in August, the lowest since February 2021, compared to market prognoses of 0.4% and the July figure of 0.5%.

• S&P 500 (US500) 6,693.75 +29.39 (+0.44%)
• Dow Jones (US30) 46,381.54 +66.27 (+0.14%)
• DAX (DE40) 23,527.05 −112.36 (−0.48%)
• FTSE 100 (UK100) 9,226.68 +10.01 (+0.11%)
• USD Index 97.33 −0.32 (−0.33%)
   

News feed for: 2025.09.23

• Australia Manufacturing PMI (m/m) at 02:00 (GMT+3);
• Australia Services PMI (m/m) at 02:00 (GMT+3);
• Singapore Consumer Price Index (m/m) at 08:00 (GMT+3);
• German Manufacturing PMI (m/m) at 10:30 (GMT+3);
• German Services PMI (m/m) at 10:30 (GMT+3);
• Eurozone Manufacturing PMI (m/m) at 11:00 (GMT+3);
• Eurozone Services PMI (m/m) at 11:00 (GMT+3);
• UK Manufacturing PMI (m/m) at 11:30 (GMT+3);
• UK Services PMI (m/m) at 11:30 (GMT+3);
• US Manufacturing PMI (m/m) at 16:45 (GMT+3);
• US Services PMI (m/m) at 16:45 (GMT+3);
• US Fed Chair Powell Speaks at 19:35 (GMT+3).

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