■Low-tech stocks trade sideways ahead of Fed’s rate announcement
■High-tech exhibits strong performance with Nasdaq adding 2.3% weekly
â– EUR/USD declines to 1.1155 following strong U.S. August Consumer Price Index
â– Oil prices fall to USD 43.03 on reports of supply side strengthening
Reminiscing of the good old days of the .com bubble, markets saw substantial headwind at traditional industries, on the one hand, vs. gains at higher tech, on the other. In the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the weekly session at a meager 0.2% increase, with numerous visits to bull and bear territory. Financials also faced headwind with Deutsche Bank’s (DB) stock taking a blow on Friday, after receiving a USD 14 bln claim to resolve the probe on its questioned selling of mortgage securities. Positive high-tech sentiment, alternatively, was highly visible. Apple’s (AAPL) gains were among the most vibrant, with an 11.4% weekly gain, amid a positive introduction of the new iPhone 7 and iOS 10. Gains at the technology intensive Nasdaq Composite summed to no less than 2.3%.
Selling pressure on U.S. equity was particularly strong on Friday, with the S&P shelling-off about half a percent of its value at the first minutes of the day’s trading. Negative sentiment was pushed by U.S. August Consumer Price Index data being released ahead of the markets’ open. These revealed unexpected strength in headline inflation, scoring a 0.2% Month over Month gain, versus expectations for a 0.1% increase. Core inflation, additionally, which is referred to by the Fed, recorded no less than a 0.3% monthly increase, surging above the 0.2% increase expected. The gain also meant that annual core inflation for the U.S. now stands at 2.3%. The figure’s edging well above the Fed’s 2% inflation objective translated to the concerns of a looming hike…
Policy pressure weighted not only on equity but also meant an increase of bond yields in the U.S., including a 3bp gain at the policy-sensitive 2 year, to 0.76%. This aided in soothing U.S. equity investors’ bitter taste from the news – The greenback itself also received a positive nudge from the increased odds of a forthcoming Fed hike, with EURUSD losing 0.8% for the day, to 1.1155
