18th August 2021 Morning Report

Wednesday 18th August 2021

U.S. stock Markets fell Tuesday as investors reacted to disappointing retail sales numbers that decreased 1.1% in July worse than the expected 0.3% drop. The slowdown is attributed to the resurgence in COVID-19 infections. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.79%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.7% and 0.93%, respectively. The Dow and the S&P 500 ended their five-day streaks of closing at record highs.

Other key overseas markets were mostly lower, with European bourses closing mixed with Germany’s DAX 30 and France’s CAC 40 losing 0.02% and 0.28%, respectively, while Britain’s FTSE 100 was 0.38%. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index lost 0.36%, 1.66% respectively and China’s Shanghai Composite fell 2%.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was 70 cents down at $66.59 a barrel and gold sank $1.90 to $1,785 an ounce.

Morning Report 18 August 2021

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