Global Markets Report - 23 August
ASX set to open lower, after US markets were on edge ahead of Fed Chair's speech.
Australia
Australian shares are set to open lower, after US markets were on edge ahead of the Fed Chair's speech.
ASX futures were down 0.53% or 43 points as of 8:00am on Friday, suggesting a lower open.
US stocks fell, with the Nasdaq leading the way.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.9% and the Nasdaq Composite pulled back 1.7%. The Dow industrials shed 0.4%.
In commodity markets, Brent crude oil was up 1.5% to US$77.22 a barrel, while gold was flat at US$2,484.47.
The Australian dollar was at 67.03 US cents.
Asia
Chinese shares closed lower. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.3% to 2,848.77, and the Shenzhen Composite Index fell 1.1% to 1,505.08.
Hong Kong shares ended higher. The benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 1.4% to 17,641.00.
Japanese shares closed higher. The Nikkei Stock Average added 0.7% to 38,211.01.
India shares ended higher. The BSE SENSEX rose 0.2% to 81,053.19.
Europe
Stocks in the U.K. finished higher. The FTSE 100 Index increased 0.1% to 8,288.00.
In Europe, shares closed mixed. Germany's DAX rose 0.2% to 18,493.39, and France's CAC 40 was flat at 7,524.11.
North America
U.S. stocks ended lower. The DJIA fell 0.4% to 40,712.78, the S&P 500 slipped 0.9% to 5,570.64, and the Nasdaq dropped 1.7% to 17,619.35.
Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Franklin Resources Inc, surging 4.6%, Nordson Corp jumped 3.3%, and CenterPoint Energy Inc lifted 3.1%.
The biggest decliners were Moderna Inc which dropped 6.5%, Intel Corp fell 6.1%, and Tesla Inc lost 5.7%.