• Wall Street closed higher on August 30, with the DJIA, S&P 500, and Nasdaq surged by +0.55%, +1.01%, and +1.13% respectively.
• US stocks rose on Friday, with the Dow Jones hitting a new all-time high. Gains were driven by positive corporate results from Intel and Marvel Technology, both up over 9%, along with favorable US July core PCE and personal spending data.
• The 10-year and 2-year UST yields increased by 4.0 bps to 3.91%. T-notes prices declined further after strong US economic data dimmed hopes for a 50 bps Fed rate cut in September, though month-end buying by bond fund managers extending duration offered some support.
• The US July core PCE price index, the Fed's preferred inflation measure, remained at +2.6% YoY (+0.2% MoM) for the third consecutive month, beating expectations of +2.7% YoY.
• US personal spending increased by +0.5% MoM in July 2024, in line with expectations, following a +0.3% MoM gain in June. Personal income rose +0.3% MoM, up from June’s +0.2% MoM and above the forecast of +0.2% MoM.
• The Eurozone's unemployment rate fell unexpectedly to a record low of 6.4% in July 2024, down from 6.5% in June and better than the expected 6.5%, highlighting a stronger labor market in Europe.
• In Asia, Japan's retail sales increased by 2.6% YoY in July 2024, down from 3.8% in June and below the 2.9% forecast. Nonetheless, retail sales have remained positive since March 2022, supported by rising wages.
• Global bond yields moved higher on Friday: the 10-yr German bund yield up +2.4 bps to 2.29%, the 10-yr UK gilt yield down -0.4 bps to 4.01%, and the 10-yr Japanese JGB nearly flat -0.1 bps to 0.90%.
