Headlines:
- US-EU joint statement says tariffs relief for autos to come in “hopefully weeks”
- Walmart earnings come up short, shares down in pre-market
- Fed’s Bostic: Fed policy has been positioned to return inflation to 2%
- Fed’s Schmid: I am not in a hurry to cut interest rates
- BOJ to raise interest rate to at least 0.75% by year-end – poll
- France August flash services PMI 49.7 vs 48.5 expected
- Germany August flash manufacturing PMI 49.9 vs 48.8 expected
- UK August flash services PMI 53.6 vs 51.8 expected
- UK August CBI trends total orders -33 vs -28 expected
Markets:
- USD steady, JPY lags on the day
- European equities lower; S&P 500 futures down 0.3%
- US 10-year yields up 2 bps to 4.316%
- Gold down 0.4% to $3,333.05
- WTI crude up 0.5% to $63.01
- Bitcoin down 1.1% to $113,116
The main items on the agenda in Europe today were the PMI data releases but they didn’t really do much to jolt markets into action.
The French and German readings were better than expected, with the manufacturing side pulling the weight this time around. That reaffirmed a more resilient showing in euro area business activity in August and helps to maintain the current ECB policy stance on pausing through the summer.
The UK reading was also solid at the balance and that will keep the BOE sidelined as well heading into next month.
In terms of reactions though, there weren’t any. The euro is keeping lightly changed alongside the pound against the dollar. Both are flattish on the day with the greenback also holding steadier for the most part.
USD/JPY is a slight mover, helped out by some Fed commentary in the past 20 minutes with Treasury yields also nudging up a little. The pair is up 0.4% to 147.90 with 10-year yields up 2 bps now to 4.316% on the day.
Besides that, there wasn’t anything to scrutinise among major currencies amid a lack of poise awaiting US data later and Fed chair Powell’s speech tomorrow.
In the equities space, stocks remain sluggish with European indices keeping lower after a tentative start. That is also helped by US futures slipping as well on the day, not helped by Walmart’s earnings/profit miss even as revenue came in strong. CEO Doug McMillon’s call later will be a key focus point to gauge sentiment surrounding the US consumer and tariffs.
In other markets, gold is down slightly with cryptocurrencies also continuing their retreat after the upside momentum has waned earlier in the week.
This article was written by Justin Low at investinglive.com.