Asia
A positive close on Wall Street overnight on Tuesday failed to lift Asia out of its current malaise. China’s Shanghai and Shenzhen indices were again weaker, although the latter index was the bigger faller in percentage terms. Reports that China, which is in the middle of war games with Russia, is seeking permission from the World Trade Organisation to impose sanctions on the United States. Adding this to the current trade anxieties has harmed the case for China and Hong Kong equities once again. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index drifted closer to 26,000 points with a loss of 77 points on the day, hitting a 14-month low today.
Japan’s Nikkei 255, which yesterday bucked the weaker trend, followed Asia-Pacific indices lower.
Europe
A surprise profit warning from FTSE 100 dividend staple SSE (SSE) sent its shares down sharply in morning trading, and weakened other shares in its sector such as National Grid (NG.) and Centrica (CNA). Blaming higher gas prices and a warmer-than-expected spring and summer, SSE said that its first-half profits would be 50% lower than this time last year. Oil shares gained as the price of global crude rose amid expectations of disruption from Hurricane Florence in the US.
The FTSE 100 itself gave up earlier modest gains, while Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC nudged higher.
North America
As the price of oil rises, weekly crude oil, gasoline and distillate inventories released on Wednesday, with data up to 7 September.
Looking ahead, Adobe (ADBE) is one of the biggest US companies to report this week and releases numbers tomorrow.
US inflation for August is one of the highlights of the economic calendar this week, with data released on Thursday. The Consumer Price Index is expected to have risen by 2.8% in August, against a yearly rise of 2.9% in July. Canada’s CPI number for August is due to next week.
Retail sales for August will also be in view on Friday.