19th August 2021 Morning Report

Thursday 19th August 2021

U.S. stock indexes closed lower yesterday as investors reacted to the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting which implied the central bank could begin tapering its asset purchases this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1.07% lower and the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite indices declined 1.07% and 0.89%, respectively. The selling in the Dow and the S&P 500 pushed both indexes lower for a second day.

Other leading overseas markets closed mixed. European bourses were mainly lower, with France’s CAC 40, 0.73% lower, Britain’s FTSE 100 off 0.16% and Germany’s DAX 30 rising 0.28%. In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index increased 0.47% while Japan’s Nikkei 225 and China’s Shanghai Composite were 0.59% and 1.11% higher respectively.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil lost $1.13 to $65.46 a barrel and gold fell $3.40 to $1,781.60 an ounce.

Morning Report 19 August 2021

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