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US PMI slips, Europe surprises to the upside

Purchasing Managers Indices (PMI) in the US and Europe surprised markets by developing in opposite direction in August, data released Thursday showed. Equity markets slipped ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium scheduled for later Friday. Bond yields bounced back on Thursday, while Gold was again trading where it started the week, near USD 2500 per ounce.

Data
Autore
Shane Strowmatt, LGT
Tempo di lettura
5 minuto

Mixed markets
© Shutterstock

US Flash Manufacturing PMI fell to 48 in August from 49.6 in July, marking the fastest contraction this year. The drop was driven by declines in production, orders, and factory employment. In contrast, services activity expanded, indicating resilience in the largest sector of the economy. Flash Composite PMI fell slightly to 54.1 from 54.3 in July. A value above 50 signals expansion.

US jobless claims increase slightly

Another sign of cooling in the US economy came from the US labour market, with initial claims for US unemployment benefits rising by 4000 to 232,000 in the week ending 17 August. The figure was aligned with economists’ estimates and indicates a gradual moderation in the labour market.

The drop in manufacturing activity as well as the modest rise in jobless claims contributed to souring sentiment on Wall Street on Thursday. Stock indices were dragged down largely by tech stocks. The tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 lost 1.7%. The Dow Jones Industrial finished the session down 0.4% and the S&P 500 lost 0.9%.

Euro-area PMI beats forecasts

Euro-area Composite PMI increased to 51.2 in August from 50.2 in July, driven by the Paris Olympics and marking the fastest private-sector growth in three months. Despite the uptick, the manufacturing sector continued to slump, with Germany's output shrinking more than expected. The temporary Olympic boost is expected to fade, and manufacturing struggles persist in the economic bloc. European stocks moved little on Thursday with the Euro Stoxx 50 and France’s CAC 40 ending the session roughly flat and Germany’s DAX gaining 0.2%.


In individual stocks, Swiss foods giant Nestlé is replacing its chief executive officer with a long-time company employee, Laurent Freixe. The change comes as the company struggles to maintain volumes in the aftermath of the pandemic.

Japanese inflation stable

Japan's headline inflation held steady at 2.8% in July, unchanged from June. Core inflation rose to 2.7% from June’s 2.6%, while the "core-core" inflation rate, excluding fresh food and energy, decreased to 1.9% from 2.2% in June, marking its lowest level since September 2022. Core-core inflation is closely watched by the Bank of Japan (BOJ). Separately on Friday, BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda confirmed that the central bank is committed to raising interest rates to sustainably bring inflation in line with the BOJ’s 2% target. The Nikkei 225 was trading 0.5% higher on Friday. The yen gained slightly versus the US dollar.

Elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region, stock markets were mixed. In South Korea, the Kospi gained 0.1%, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.1%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was trading 0.3% lower, while mainland China’s CSI 300 was up 0.3%.

Corporate and macroeconomic calendars

Corporate news in focus: There is no major corporate news scheduled today.

Economic data in focus: Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks at the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey speaks in Jackson Hole, US new residential sales.

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Publisher: LGT Bank (Switzerland) Ltd., Glärnischstrasse 36, CH-8027 Zurich
Editor: Alessandro Fezzi
Source: LGT Bank (Switzerland) Ltd.

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