Asia Markets Mixed, Europe Slides; Dollar Near 2-Week High And Gold Steady Above $2,500 - Global Markets Today While US Slept

On Friday, August 30th, U.S. stocks closed higher, with the Dow reaching a second consecutive all-time high. Strong consumer spending and moderate inflation fueled hopes for a modest Fed rate cut in September, signaling a potential soft landing for the economy.

Economic data showed that July’s U.S. personal income rose by 0.3% to $24.015 trillion, with spending up 0.5%. The core PCE price index increased by 0.2%, matching estimates, while the University of Michigan’s August consumer sentiment was slightly revised to 67.9.

All 11 S&P 500 sectors closed higher on Friday, with consumer discretionary leading the gains, followed by industrials and information technology.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.55% and closed at 41,563.08. The S&P 500 ended the day higher by 1.01% at 5,648.40, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.13%, finishing the session at 17,713.62.

Asian Markets Today

• On Tuesday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed higher by 0.14% at 38,728.50, led by gains in the Shipbuilding, Financial Services and Insurance sectors.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.08%, ending the session at 8,103.20, led by losses in the Consumer Staples, Metals & Mining, and Resources sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 declined 0.04%, closing at 25,268.90, and the Nifty 500 closed higher by 0.08% at 23,779.00.
• China’s Shanghai Composite was down 0.29%, ending the session at 2,802.98, while the Shenzhen CSI gained 0.26%, closing at 3,273.43.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended the session lower by 0.23% at 17,651.49.

Eurozone at 06:15 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 index declined 0.48%.
• Germany’s DAX slid 0.40%.
• France’s CAC was down 0.28%.
• U.K.’s FTSE 100 traded lower by 0.57%.

Commodities at 06:15 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading lower by 1.62% at $72.33/bbl, and Brent was down 2.35% at $75.72 bbl.
• Oil prices fell due to concerns over weak economic growth in China, despite some support from halted Libyan oil production and upcoming OPEC+ output increases.
• Natural Gas gained 3.39% to $2.199.
• Gold was trading higher by 0.05% at $2,528.95, Silver fell 1.79% to $28.622, and Copper fell 3.31% to $4.070.

US Futures at 06:15 AM ET

Dow futures were down 0.51%, S&P 500 futures fell 0.54%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures slid 0.75%.

Forex at 06:15 AM ET

• The U.S. dollar index rose 0.15% to 101.80, the USD/JPY was down 0.64% to 145.95, and the USD/AUD gained 0.85% to 1.4853.
• The dollar is near a two-week high as investors await key U.S. economic data that could impact the Federal Reserve’s rate decision, while the yen strengthened after the Bank of Japan signaled potential rate hikes.

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