Australia

Australian shares are set to edge higher as Wall Street snaps its 3-day losing streak.
ASX futures were up 31 points or 0.44% at 6934 as of 7:00am on Thursday, pointing to a gain at the open.

US stocks edged higher Wednesday, snapping a three-day losing streak that was fueled by worries about the path forward for interest rates.

In 4 p.m. ET trading, the S&P 500 rose 0.3%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.2%. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.4%.

"The market is in this 'treading water' phase right now," said Brian Price, head of investment management at Commonwealth Financial Network. "It's hovering near flat in anticipation of [Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome] Powell's speech."

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil rose for the second day, up 1% to $US101.22 a barrel, gold edged up 0.23% to US$1,752.14.

In local bond markets, the yield on Australian 2 Year government bonds dropped to 2.99% while the 10 Year rose to 3.62%. Overseas, the yield on 2 Year US Treasury notes rose to 3.4% and the yield on the 10 Year US Treasury notes was up to 3.1%.

The Australian dollar hit 69.07 US cents down from the previous close of 69.28. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which tracks the US dollar against 16 other currencies edged up to 99.79.

Asia

Chinese shares ended lower, weighed by concerns over the ongoing drought and heat wave. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.9% to 3215.20, the Shenzhen Composite dropped 3.0% to 2160.38 and the ChiNext Price Index declined 3.6% to 2679.05. EV battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. fell 5.9% even though 1H earnings exceeded market expectations. Auto stocks fell, with BYD Co. declining 3.8% and SAIC Motor slipping 2.0%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed at its lowest level in five months, falling amid investor concerns about the Fed's monetary tightening. Auto makers, tech and property developers weighed on the HSI, dragging it down 1.2% to 19268.74. BYD Co. lost 5.2% and Geely slid 4.5%, extending this week's losses amid overall worries about production disruptions caused by a heatwave in China. Logan Group dived 51% as trading of its stock resumed after more than three months. The property developer said that it expects to miss payment for an offshore bond and posted a 23% drop in 2021 net profit. Country Garden Services gave up 4.6% after releasing 1H results with no interim dividend. Among tech shares, Meituan was down 2.7% and Alibaba Group fell 2.4%

Japanese stocks ended lower, dragged by falls in game and chip stocks, as caution continues over the Fed's further tightening. Nintendo dropped 2.6% and Lasertec lost 3.0%. Meanwhile, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries rose 6.9% and IHI Corp. gained 5.4% following reports that the Japanese government could consider building new nuclear plants. The Nikkei Stock Average closed 0.5% lower at 28313.47.

Europe

The pan-European STOXX Europe 600 Index is up 0.70 point or 0.16% today to 432.05, the German DAX is up 25.83 points or 0.20% today to 13220.06, and the French CAC 40 Index is up 24.74 points or 0.39% today to 6386.76.

In London, the FTSE 100 fell 0.2% with housebuilders, supermarkets and mining shares leading the decline. Aveva jumped 27% after Schneider Electric said it's considering a full-takeover of the UK software developer. ASR Nederland advanced 5.2% after the Dutch insurance group posted strong 1H results.

"While the downward momentum of the past few days has eased off, particularly in US markets, there remains an underlying nervousness about the Jackson Hole meeting later in the week," IG analyst Chris Beauchamp wrote.

North America

Stocks came under pressure in recent days from a series of data releases that showed contractions in the manufacturing and services sectors. Also, Fed officials have signaled that interest rates are likely to continue increasing to fight inflation. The central bank begins its annual economic policy symposium in Jackson Hole on Thursday, and Mr. Powell is set to speak Friday.

"We still have the same problems we need to solve: shortages of labor, shortages of energy and other commodities, and the headwinds of a tightening cycle," said Giorgio Caputo, a senior portfolio manager at J O Hambro Capital Management.

Energy stocks in the S&P 500 paced the benchmark's gains, rising around 1%.
A data release showed durable-goods orders in July were flat, coming in below economists' forecasts. Tech giants Salesforce and Nvidia are scheduled to report earnings after markets close.

"Growth is falling quite precipitously everywhere. We've had a pretty big signal of weakening economic conditions," said Fahad Kamal, chief investment officer of Kleinwort Hambros. "But I think we'll see Powell stick to his hawkish tone; he has to keep talking tough on inflation."
Intuit rose 3.6% as of 4 p.m. after the tax-prep software company reported better-than-expected earnings, authorized a share buyback and lifted its dividend.

Nordstrom tumbled about 20% after the clothing retailer lowered its financial goals for the year, citing risks of a steeper economic downturn and a slowdown in consumer spending.