Market report
Status: 08/31/2021 7:40 a.m.
Even today, the leading German index is probably not making any real headway on the way to a new record high. US tech stocks are booming, but weak data from China is dampening sentiment.
Following pre-trading signals, the DAX should start trading at 15,900 points, which would be a few points above yesterday’s closing level. This means that the index will initially remain trapped in its narrow trading range for the current week.
On the US stock exchanges, technology stocks in particular caused a sensation with further profits. The technology-heavy Nasdaq closed 0.9 percent higher at 15,265 points. The broad S&P 500 gained 0.4 percent to 4528 points. However, the standard values in the Dow Jones Index lost 0.2 percent to 35,399 points.
Among the tech stocks, the heavyweights Microsoft, Amazon, Google parent Alphabet and the electronics manufacturer Tesla also made significant gains. Market watchers see a slight relief rally, especially in technology stocks, after the US Federal Reserve (Fed) did not announce a time for a tightening of monetary policy in the US on Friday.
Asian stock exchanges with losses
However, the picture is clouded in the morning by the weakening stock markets in Asia. Shortly before the close of trading, the Nikkei index, which comprises 225 stocks, is 0.2 percent lower at 27,735 points. The Shanghai stock exchange is trading 0.8 percent in the red. The index of the most important companies in Shanghai and Shenzen is down 1.4 percent.
China’s economy is shaky
The reason for the losses are weak economic data from China. Corona-related restrictions and raw material prices are depressing China’s industrial activity. The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) fell to 50.1 in August from 50.4 in July, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Tuesday.
The Chinese economy had already largely recovered from the pandemic, but is currently facing shortages of raw materials and disruptions in supply chains. The indicator for the service sector also contracted in August for the first time since February 2020. The value of non-manufacturing industries was 47.5 in August, well below the value of 53.3 in July.
On the foreign exchange market, the euro continues to work its way up after its weak phase last week. In the morning, the common currency is trading at $ 1.1820. The prices for gold and oil are also slightly up. A barrel of North Sea Brent oil costs $ 72.10 in the morning. The troy ounce of gold is also trending a little higher at $ 1,815 at the moment.
Shares in payment service provider PayPal rose sharply in the evening after reports circulated that the company could get into stock trading. According to the broadcaster CNBC, PayPal is considering building a trading platform for stocks on which US customers can trade. PayPal hired a veteran industry expert to do this. But it is unlikely that the offer will be launched this year.
The growth of the US video service Zoom is weakening despite the global trend towards home offices. In the second fiscal quarter to the end of July, sales climbed 54 percent to $ 1.02 billion. It was the first time that Zoom cracked the billion mark within three months, but growth no longer reached the three-digit rates at the beginning of the Corona crisis. Profits rose to just under $ 317 million from nearly $ 186 million previously. The Zoom share slipped on Wall Street after hours.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has brought into play a complete ban on the so-called PFOF business model in securities trading and has thus sent Robinhood’s shares downhill. Purchase orders for shares are passed on to major banks. SEC chief Gary Gensler told the financial newspaper “Barron’s” that a ban on “Payment for Order Flow” (PFOF) was “on the table”. The trading app, which is popular with small investors, generates more than three quarters of its sales through PFOF. The titles of the company Charles Schwab, which also uses the process, fell by almost 3.2 percent.