European indices end the day in the red. Polish market performed the worst on the continent today. WIG20 decreased by almost 2%. The German DAX fell by over 1.6%, while the French CAC40 and Spanish IBEX35 dropped by more than 1%.
American indices remain in the red, with Nasdaq 100 losing the most. Nasdaq 100 is down over 2%, and declines dominate among American Big Tech companies. All of the so-called "Magnificent Seven" stocks are losing today, led by Tesla, whose shares are falling by over 5%.
NFP data from the US labor market came in lower than expected. In August, employment in non-farm and non-governmental sectors increased by 142,000 against forecasts of 160,000. At the same time, July figures were revised down to 89,000 (previous reading: 114,000). The unemployment rate fell by 0.1 percentage point to 4.2%, which was in line with forecasts.
One of the largest American chip manufacturers, Broadcom (AVGO.US), is losing almost 10% today after quarterly results and lower-than-expected forecasts for the entire 2024. Meanwhile, Guidewire Software (+12%) and Smartsheet (+7%) are rising sharply after publishing better reports for Q2 2024.
JP Morgan downgraded SMCI from a "buy" rating and now recommends taking a "neutral" position on this stock. The revised target price, which is $500, makes a big impression.
Weak reading in Germany: industrial production for July: -2.4% m/m (expected: -0.4% m/m; previously: 1.7% m/m).
The unemployment rate in Canada reached its highest result in 7 years (excluding the COVID-19 pandemic period). The unemployment rate in August 2024 was 6.6% vs. Forecast 6.5% and was higher than the previous value of 6.4%. The employment change in August 2024 was lower than expected at 22.1k vs 25k.
Gold is losing almost 1% today and breaking through 2500 on the downside. Strong declines are also seen in silver. Contracts for this metal are losing over 3% today, falling to values from early August.
WTI is down over 2% and is at its lowest this year, which may indicate concerns about the state of the economy.
The VIX volatility index is up 10% today after declines in the broad market. It has grown by 35% over the week.
Bitcoin is falling by over 3.5% today and is approaching support at 53480. At the moment, the main cryptocurrency is losing 0.3% intraday and is trading close to $54,000. Ethereum is giving up over 4% and costs around $2,270.
Among G10 currencies, the Australian dollar is performing the worst today, losing over 1%. Declines are also seen in the New Zealand dollar (-0.8%) and the Norwegian krone (-0.8%). The strongest currencies remain the Japanese yen (+0.8%) and the Swiss franc (+0.1%). Despite many macroeconomic data publications, the US dollar remains at a similar level as at the beginning of the day.