Today’s Outlook:
• US MARKET :The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 301.07 points, or 0.65%, to 45,952.24, the S&P 500 fell 41.98 points, or 0.63%, to 6,629.08 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 107.54 points, or 0.47%, to 22,562.54.
Regional bank shares tumbled earlier in the session after Zions Bancorporation and Western Alliance Bancorporation disclosed loan losses tied to potential fraud, reviving fears of weak credit oversight across smaller lenders. Zions said it would write off about USD 50 million after uncovering “misrepresentations and contractual defaults” on commercial loans via its California Bank & Trust unit. Western Alliance said it was pursuing legal action against a borrower over allegedly fraudulent collateral. Zions fell more than 13%, and Western Alliance lost nearly 10%, dragging the KBW Regional Banking index down about 6%.
Broader market sentiment was also pressured by geopolitical and political headwinds. Investors remained wary of worsening U.S.–China trade tensions, as Trump has announced plans to impose an additional 100% tariff on all imports from China starting next month in response to Beijing’s restrictions on rare earth shipments.
Meanwhile, the U.S. government shutdown, now in its third week, continued to weigh on confidence, disrupting economic data releases and raising concerns about near-term growth.
• EUROPEAN MARKET: The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.69%, The DAX index in Germany rose 0.4%, the CAC 40 in France rallied 1.4% and the FTSE 100 in the U.K. edged 0.1% higher.
European stocks closed higher on Thursday, continuing the choppy week as investors digested the French political unrest as well as U.K. growth data.
European stocks advanced as investors took largely upbeat corporate earnings to heart amid easing political tensions after French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu survived a confidence vote.
Elsewhere, Britain’s economy returned to growth in August, as monthly gross domestic product expanded by a modest 0.1% from July, official data showed on Thursday. Britain’s economy is on course to have the second-fastest growth among the Group of Seven nations after the United States, the International Monetary Fund said this week.
•ASIAN MARKET: Most Asian stock markets extended gains on Thursday as growing expectations of imminent U.S. Federal Reserve rate cuts lifted sentiment. Gains across the region were limited by renewed worries over the U.S.-China trade relationship. Washington has criticised Beijing’s decision to tighten rare earth export controls and signalled possible retaliatory measures.
The tensions follow recent threats by President Donald Trump to impose additional 100% tariffs on Chinese imports, reviving memories of previous trade flare-ups that unsettled markets. China’s blue-chip Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 edged 0.1% lower, while the Shanghai Composite fell 0.3%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 0.8%.
• GOLD : Gold breached the USD 4,300 mark for the first time as the precious metal benefited from trade tensions and the U.S. government shutdown.
• COMMODITIES – OIL :Oil prices fell more than 1% on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to meet in Hungary soon to discuss ending the war in Ukraine, casting uncertainty over global energy supplies. Brent crude futures settled 85 cents, or 1.37%, lower at USD 61.06 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures closed 81 cents, or 1.39%, lower at USD 57.46. Those were the lowest settlements for both benchmarks since May 5. Trump said he and Putin agreed on Thursday to meet in Budapest soon to discuss ending the war in Ukraine, one day before the U.S. president was due to speak with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy. The date of the summit was not provided.
• INDONESIA: The JCI closed higher by +0.91% at 8,124.76, maintaining its rebound above the 8,000 support level. Keep an eye on banking stocks as they approach oversold support areas, where current valuations appear attractive for accumulation. In a market environment that is likely to remain highly volatile, closely monitor conglomerate stocks in your portfolio — and consider reducing exposure if they start to break below their 20-day moving average (MA20). If a pullback continues in gold-related commodity stocks, they could offer short-term trading opportunities, especially for high-volatility gold stocks, where scalping momentum can be utilized when signs of weakness emerge.
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