On Wednesday, the last trading day of August, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.88%, the S&P 500 fell 0.78%, and the Nasdaq fell 0.56%, as the latest jobs data showed poor performance and the Federal Reserve officials continued to signal aggressive interest rate hikes. So through August, all three indexes are down more than 4%. September is typically the worst month of the year for U.S. stocks, and with the Federal Reserve expected to continue raising interest rates, market analysts believe volatility will remain high for some time to come.
The U.S. economy added 132,000 private jobs in August, well below market expectations.
On the data front, the employment report released Wednesday by ADP showed that US private companies added 132,000 jobs in August, well below market expectations of 288,000 and the lowest level since May, and the data pointed to a significant slowdown in US private sector job growth 39bet-đua chó-game giải trí -đá gà-đá gà trực tuyến-đánh bài.
Cleveland Fed president: Fed won't cut interest rates until at least 2023
After the ADP report, the focus shifted to Friday's August non-farm payrolls report, which is an important indicator for the Fed's decision on how much to raise interest rates in September. Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said on Wednesday she expects the Fed funds rate to stand at 4 percent by early next year, with no rate cuts until at least 2023.
Europe's three main supermarkets fell on August 31st
In Europe, the latest data showed that the eurozone consumer price index, or CPI, rose 9.1% in August from a year earlier, higher than market expectations. Europe's three main markets fell on Wednesday, with London down 1.05 per cent, Paris down 1.37 per cent and Frankfurt down 0.97 per cent.
U.S. crude futures fell below the round $90 per barrel mark on August 31
Oil prices on Wednesday extended the previous session's slide, falling below the important round $90 a barrel mark. Light crude for October delivery fell 2.28% to settle at $89.55 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. London Brent crude for October delivery fell 2.84 per cent to settle at $96.49 a barrel. On the news, data from the American Petroleum Institute showed that crude oil inventories unexpectedly rose by 593,000 barrels last week, compared with market expectations of a drop of 633,000 barrels. In addition, Iraq says its unrest has had no effect on its crude oil exports, contributing to the rapid decline in oil prices.
European gas futures fell nearly 10% on August 31st
European gas prices continued to fall sharply on Wednesday, following the previous two sessions, with the main Dutch TTF gas futures contract, seen as a bellwether for European gas prices, closing down nearly 10 percent at 239.105 euros/MWH. Analysis thinks, European natural gas prices have fallen sharply recently and the German side's statement is closely related. Earlier this week, Robert Habeck, deputy chancellor and minister of economy and climate protection, said that despite difficult conditions, Germany's gas reserves had grown faster than expected and were now at 83% of capacity, putting the country on track to meet its target of 85% by October ahead of schedule.