The Dow Jones Industrial Average (US30) finished Tuesday up 0.02%. The S&P 500 (US500) fell 0.59%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq (US100) closed down 1.39%, hitting its lowest level in over two weeks amid a sharp drop in chipmakers. US stocks largely closed lower as losses in major tech companies weighed on the market. Nvidia fell by 3.5%, AMD was down 5.4%, Broadcom dropped 3.6%, and Palantir was the weakest performer in the S&P 500, plunging 9.3%. Intel bucked the trend, rising 7% after SoftBank announced a $2 billion investment, which fueled optimism about its turnaround. Investors are now focused on the Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole Symposium, where Chair Jerome Powell’s speech on Friday could provide insight into the September policy meeting and the possibility of rate cuts.

The Canadian dollar weakened to 1.38 per US dollar, nearing its two-month low of 1.386 from July 31, as investors digested the latest inflation data. Headline inflation slowed to 1.7% in July, largely driven by lower gasoline prices, but the Bank of Canada’s core measures remained near the top of its target range. The trimmed mean measure, in particular, was stuck at 3.0% in July against expectations of 3.1%, which pushed the market toward a more dovish stance from the Central Bank. This was compounded by an unexpected loss of 41,000 jobs in July, far worse than the 13,500 analysts had projected, and an unchanged unemployment rate of 6.9%.

Bitcoin (BTC/USD) is trading around $113,000, holding most of its losses after a sharp sell-off that sent it to a six-week low. The decline reflects the correlation between digital assets and tech stocks, as investors moved away from growth-oriented assets ahead of the Fed’s Jackson Hole Symposium. The sell-off was further intensified by reports that the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating potential stock fraud and manipulation at Alt5 Sigma, which fueled broader risk-off sentiment in speculative markets.

European stock markets gained yesterday. Germany’s DAX (DE40) rose by 0.45%, France’s CAC 40 (FR40) closed up 1.21%, Spain’s IBEX35 (ES35) gained 0.34%, and the UK’s FTSE 100 (UK100) closed positive 0.34%. On Tuesday, European equities closed sharply higher, reaching their highest level since March, on optimism about steps taken to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. On Monday, European leaders met with US and Ukrainian Presidents Trump and Zelenskyy in Washington and announced they would provide security guarantees to Ukraine if it began to end the war.

The US natural gas prices (XNG/USD) fell below $2.80 per MBtu, their lowest level since November 2024, pressured by near-record production and high storage levels. The average production in the Lower 48 states was 108.1 billion cubic feet per day in August, up from the record 107.9 billion cubic feet per day in July. The latest EIA data showed that storage inventories grew by 56 billion cubic feet for the week ending August 8, well above seasonal norms.

Asian markets were mostly lower yesterday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 (JP225) fell by 0.38%, China’s FTSE China A50 (CHA50) declined 0.28%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HK50) dropped 0.21%, and Australia’s ASX 200 (AU200) ended the day down 0.70%.

The New Zealand dollar fell by more than 1% to $0.582 on Wednesday, reaching its lowest level since mid-April, after the Reserve Bank, as expected, cut interest rates and signaled that further easing was possible. The Central Bank lowered the Official Cash Rate by 25 basis points to a three-year low of 3%, bringing its easing cycle to 250 basis points, as policymakers sought to revive a struggling economy and protect it from risks related to US tariff policy. Following the announcement, markets quickly priced in two more rate cuts by the end of the year, setting a 50% probability for such a move in October and more than a 100% chance in November.