Morning wrap (08.09.2023)

• Wall Street indices finished yesterday's trading lower with S&P 500 dropping 0.32%, Nasdaq moving 0.89% lower and Russell 2000 declining 0.99%. Dow Jones was outperformer with 0.17% gain
• US indices were dragged lower by tech sector, which has been underperforming following expansion of Chinese ban on iPhone use in government-backed agencies (Apple shares dropped almost 3%)
• Indices from Asia-Pacific traded lower today - Nikkei dropped 1.3%, S&P/ASX 200 moved 0.4% lower, Kospi traded flat and Nifty 50 gained 0.1%. Indices from China traded 0.1-0.9% lower
• Morning session in Hong Hong has been canceled today due to severe weather warning
• European index futures point to a higher opening of the cash session on the Old Continent
• Fed's Goolsbee said that while inflation is still above target, monetary policy is working
• Fed's Logan hinted that it may be appropriate to keep rates unchanged at September meeting
• China purchased 930 thousand ounces of gold in August, marking a 10th consecutive month of gold holdings increases. A total of 5.95 million ounces of gold were added to Chinese reserves since November 2022
• Talks with Chevron Australia LNG workers failed to reach agreement and employees will go on a strike at LNG facilities starting today. It is said that strike may last 2 full weeks
• Japanese economy expanded at an annualized pace of 4.8% in Q2 2023 (first release: 6%)
• Major cryptocurrencies are trading higher today - Bitcoin gains 0.5%, Dogecoin adds 0.4% and Ethereum trades 0.1% higher
• Energy commodities are trading mixed - oil drops 0.3-0.5% while US natural gas prices trade 0.7% higher
• Precious metals gain amid USD weakening - gold and platinum trade 0.3% higher while silver jumps 0.6%
• AUD and NZD are the best performing G10 currencies while USD and JPY lag the most

US100 dropped below 15,400 pts price zone, short-term trendline and 50-period moving average (green line, H4 interval) yesterday following the expansion of the Chinese iPhone ban. However, an attempt is made today to climb back above the upward trendline. Source: xStation5