Asia
With the S&P hitting record highs overnight, Asian markets inevitably followed suit by trading higher. Starting with Japan, both the Nikkei and Topix indices closed around 1% higher, boosted again by a weaker yen.
Investors had to digest the latest diplomatic moves against North Korea as the UN security council voted to limit oil supplies to the communist country rather than halt supplies altogether. Both Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index and China’s CSI 300 were modestly higher at the close, as was South Korea’s Kospi.
Europe
The biggest economic announcement of the day in the UK was August’s inflation data. Prices rose by 2.9% year on year, above forecasts, which pushed the pound up against the dollar in morning trading. The inflation data also pushed the FTSE 100 lower after an earlier positive start to the trading day.
FTSE 100 engineering firm Ashtead (AHT) saw its shares marked up 8% higher to £18.20 as it said that its efforts to help clean up after Hurricane Irma would provide a boost to second quarter earnings.
In Europe, insurers continued their gains as the effects of the hurricane waned, with Switzerland-listed Swiss Re (SREN) rising for the second day. The Swiss Market Index rose over 0.5% to 9032.11 points around midday local time. Indices in Germany, France, Italy and Spain were given a slight lift by overnight gains in Wall Street.
North America
The standout event in the corporate calendar is the launch of the new iPhone at Apple’s (AAPL) headquarters, not least because the company is celebrating 10 years of the iconic smartphone and reportedly launching a $1,000 new modeal. After the launch of the iPhone 7 in September 2016 the share price effect was modest in the short term – but the stock has risen from $115 at that time to over $160 now.
Of the companies reporting, logistics firm Radiant (RLGT) is one of the biggest by market capitalisation. Futures markets are anticipating another rise in North American indices on Tuesday when markets open. The economic calendar is thin today, with key announcements expected on Thursday with the release of US inflation data.