Global stocks start September in cautious mood
Inadequate
Protection of
Drivers' Data
Share markets fell slightly on Monday as investors braced for a data-packed week culminating in a U.S. jobs report that could decide whether a rate cut expected this month will be regular or supersized.
Survey data released on Saturday showed Chinese manufacturing activity sank to a six-month low in August, and data on Monday showed euro zone factories are also still struggling.
Wins for the populist parties in German state elections added a fresh layer of political uncertainty in European markets, while a holiday in the United States and Canada made for thin liquidity.
"We are seeing some natural caution at the beginning of a critical month for markets, with the Fed set to start its interest rate cutting cycle," said BenLaidler,headofequitystrategyatBradescoBBI.
"Markets made a dramatic recovery from the early August flash sell-off but now face seasonally by far the weakest performance month of the year."
Source: https://www.reuters.com/markets/global-markets-wrapup-1pix-2024-09-02/
US Small Business Surges, Sentiment Improves, Treasury ReportSays
U.S. small business startup applications are surging this year with sentiment improving in the sector after a rocky post-pandemic period as inflation eases, a U.S. Treasury report showed on Tuesday.
The Treasury analysis, released as Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential campaign proposed a 10-fold increase in a tax break for startups, showed that the U.S. is averaging 430,000 new business applications per month so far in 2024. That is 50% more than the average in 2019, the last pre-COVID year of Republican nominee Donald Trump's administration.
Applications for businesses most likely to hire employees have risen to 140,000 per month, 30% more than 2019, the report shows. It added that small businesses since 2019 are now providing 70% of net new American jobs, up from 64% in the previous business cycle.
Harris will announce her plan for a small business tax deduction of up to $50,000 for startups on Wednesday in New Hampshire, a campaign official said. The current deduction limit is for $5,000 in startup costs, but the average cost to start a business is $40,000, the official added
Source:
https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2024-09-03/us-small-business-surges-
S&P 500 books back-to-back losses as Wall Street grapples with a rocky start to September
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite fell for a second straight session in a lackluster start to September.
The S&P 500 lost 0.16% to finish at 5,520.07, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.3% to close at 17,084.30. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was the outlier, edging up 38.04 points, or 0.09%, to end at 40,974.97.
“At least on the margins, you’re seeing some nibbling after that sell off yesterday,” said Truist’s co-chief investment officer Keith Lerner. “Investors are a bit on edge; it’s a low-conviction trade. Everyone’s waiting for this Friday employment report, and until then, we’re in a bit of a holding pattern.”
Nvidia fell 1.7% following a Bloomberg report that the U.S. Justice Department sent subpoenas to the chipmaker. The move comes after Nvidia tumbled more than 9% Tuesday amid a broader pullback in semiconductors.
Some megacap technology and chip stocks regained their footing Wednesday, with Advanced Micro Devices and Tesla rallying about 3% and 4%, respectively and Qualcomm edged higher.
