US stocks pull back as Trump warns China against waiting for US elections
US stock indexes pulled back on Tuesday as President Trump tweeted China may be waiting to see if Democrats win election but warned that “if & when I win, the deal that they get will be much tougher than what we are negotiating now…or no deal at all.” The S&P 500 lost 0.3% to 3013.18 with mixed corporate reports providing little support. Dow Jones industrial slipped 0.1% to 27198.02. The Nasdaq lost 0.2% to 8273.61. The dollar strengthening paused ahead widely expected Fed decision of a 25 basis point rate cut today while core personal consumption expenditure index increased at previous month’s pace of 0.2% over month in June: the live dollar index data show the ICE US Dollar index, a measure of the dollar’s strength against a basket of six rival currencies, gained less than 0.1% to 98.06 but is lower currently. Stock index futures point to higher market openings today
DAX 30 leads European indexes losses
European stocks ended sharply lower on Tuesday undermined by weak earnings reports and renewed US-China trade war concerns after President Trump hardened his rhetoric in tweets. The EUR/USD continued its climb with GBP/USD’s slump intact yesterday but both pairs are higher currently. The Stoxx Europe 600 ended 1.5% lower. The German DAX 30 dropped 2.2% to 12147.24 dragged by Bayer and Lufthansa losses while GfK reported German consumer confidence fell third consecutive month. France’s CAC 40 fell 1.6%.
UK’s FTSE 100 lost 0.5% to 7646.77.
Hang Seng paces Asian indexes retreat
Asian stock indices turned lower today as President Trumps warned China that any deal after 2020 election would be much tougher after he is re-elected. Nikkei lost 0.9% to 21521.53 as yen climb against the dollar slowed. Chinese stocks are falling as data showed China’s factory activity contracted again in July: the Shanghai Composite Index is down 0.7% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index is 1.2% lower. Australia’s All Ordinaries Index fell 0.5% as Australian dollar’s climb against the greenback resumed.
Brent rising as US crude oil inventories drop is expected
Brent futures prices are edging lower today. The American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday report indicated US crude inventories fell by 6 million barrels last week. Prices rose yesterday: October Brent gained 1.6% to $66.63 a barrel on Tuesday. Today at 16:30 CET the Energy Information Administration will release US Crude Oil Inventories.