📆 Monday, August 28
► The Stoxx Europe 600 index ascended by 0.6%, primarily driven by tech stocks. This surge was influenced by comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde at Jackson Hole. Investors first took their statements as hawkish – also as financial media platforms, such as Bloomberg, CNBC etc. wrote hawkish headlines and analysts said that in particular Powell's speech should be considered hawkish. Meanwhile, US equity futures hinted towards a positive trajectory, with Treasury yields seeing a minor dip.
► In the US, Friday's market responses turned positive after first falling following Powell's speech at Jackson Hole. He indicated that the Fed remains open to further rate hikes, but ultimately sticking to a data-driven approach. Similarly, Lagarde stressed that the ECB would adjust borrowing costs to manage inflation. The Nasdaq Composite rose by 0.94%, the S&P 500 climbed by 0.67%, and the Dow Jones grew by 0.73% on Friday. A positive finish in a turbulent week is a positive sign for the following week.
► Asian markets exhibited positive trends. Notably, Chinese / Hong Kong stocks rose by~ 1.4% following its announcement of strategies to stimulate its capital market and reinforce investor confidence. This includes measures like halving the stamp duty on stock trading. However, challenges persist, as showcased by the 15.5% year-on-year decline in China's industrial profits in the first 7 months of 2023.
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