Thursday saw mixed results across major U.S. indices despite an overall recovery observed during four prior trading days. While the Dow Jones Industrial Average started strong but lost ground later resulting in a reduction by about 168 points or roughly 0.5% decline; the S&P 500 went slightly lower by 0.2%. However, the NASDAQ Composite managed slight growth climbing up by 0.1%.
Among commodity markets, Brent crude oil surged 1.2%, reaching the $86 per barrel mark whereas gold took a minor hit, dipping below $1940.
Bond markets were little changed with Australian 2-year and 10-year yields dipping slightly, while U.S 2-year and 10-year yields remained steady.
The Australian dollar was stable around $0.64 against the US dollar, while the US Dollar Index was at 103.7.
Asia too had its share of fluctuations, especially China which is grappling with signs of slowing economic growth pace, leading shares to end lower than expected.
The real estate industry bore the brunt, most notably Poly Property Development Co Ltd (HK:6049) witnessing a substantial fall followed closely behind China Vanke Co Ltd (HK:2202) causing the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index to slip.
Hong Kong didn’t fare well either and faced a similar fate as the weakening Chinese economy affected investor sentiment. The Hang Seng index dropped 0.5%, with developers taking the hardest hit. Longfor Properties Co Ltd (HK:0960) and Yuexiu Property Co Ltd (HK:0123) declined by 4.7% and 3.2% respectively.
On a brighter note, Japanese stocks closed higher mainly due to improved performances of tech companies and trading houses. Recruit Holdings Co Ltd (TYO:6098) and Mitsubishi Corp. (TYO:8058) gained momentum, pushing Nikkei 225 higher. Meanwhile, the USD/JPY exchange rate hovered around the 145.7 range.