30th August 2021 Morning Report

Monday 30th August 2021

U.S. stock markets climbed to records highs, after Fed chair Jerome Powell's indicated the U.S. economy has advanced sufficiently for the central bank to possibly begin later this year to taper asset purchases. However, he said “COVID-19 remained a threat to the economy and consequently that tapering will not be a signal for a interest-rate lift-off” and rather that interest rate hikes were likely to be further out. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.69% higher and both the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite index advanced 0.88% and 1.23%, respectively. Both the S&P and the Nasdaq closed at all-time highs. The Dow finished 171 points below its record peak. The benchmark 10-year yield fell 3 basis points at 1.31%, as traders pushed off rate-hike expectations until January. It was previously thought the Federal Funds rate would increase in December. Meanwhile the Fed’s preferred measure for inflation, personal consumption expenditures price increases, excluding food and energy jumped 3.6% year on year for July, the steepest increase in 30 years. Other key overseas markets closed mixed with Britain’s FTSE 100, Germany’s DAX 30 and France's CAC 30 closing between 0.24% and 0.37% higher while in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.36%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged down 0.03% and China’s Shanghai Composite increased 0.59%.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil jumped $1.32 to $68.74 a barrel and gold jumped $24.40 to $1,1816.60 an ounce.

Morning Report 30 August 2021

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