Macro Roundup (Sep 8)

SHANGHAI, Sep 8 (SMM) — This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected today.

The dollar rose on Tuesday, moving further off a near-one-month low hit last week, as rising U.S. Treasury yields prompted investors to cut short dollar positions against the euro before a European Central Bank meeting this week.

Cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, also dropped sharply in volatile trading as several trading platforms said they experienced performance issues.

On Friday, the greenback tumbled to its lowest levels since early August after a surprisingly soft U.S. payrolls report prompted analysts to raise bets the Federal Reserve will not unwind its stimulus plans in coming months.

Stock futures were flat in overnight trading on Tuesday after the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 200 points as investors reassessed growth outlook following a smooth ride in the market this year.

Futures on the Dow dipped just 15 points. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures were both little changed.

The S&P 500 fell 0.3% on Tuesday in relatively thin trading following the Labor Day weekend. The blue-chip Dow dropped 260 points, weighed down by 3M and Honeywell, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose less than 0.1% to eke out a record close.

Oil prices fell on Tuesday, extending losses from the previous session, as Saudi Arabia’s sharp cuts in crude contract prices for Asia sparked fears over slower demand, but strong Chinese economic data and U.S. output outages capped losses.

Brent crude futures declined 53 cents, or 0.73%, to $71.69 per barrel, after falling 39 cents on Monday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude settled 94 cents, or 1.36%, lower at $68.35 per barrel, with no settlement price for Monday due to the Labor Day holiday in the United States.

Gold retreated over 1% on Tuesday and is on course for its biggest intraday drop in a month, as a buoyant dollar and higher yields took the shine off the metal.

Spot gold dropped 1.4% to $1,797.49 per ounce by 2:22 pm ET, and was set for its worst day since Aug. 9.

U.S. gold futures settled 1.8% lower at $1,800.40 an ounce.

The dollar jumped 0.5% against its rivals, making gold more expensive for holders of other currencies.

European stocks closed lower on Tuesday as traders took a cautious position ahead of the European Central Bank meeting on Thursday.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 provisionally ended the session down by about 0.5%, with chemicals firms falling 1.1% to lead the losses as most sectors and major bourses dipped into negative territory.

The ECB meeting comes amid a recent spike in euro zone inflation and an uptick in economic indicators, leading some market watchers to anticipate a more hawkish tone from the central bank on Thursday.

The lackluster sentiment in Europe broke away slightly from more positive trade in Asia-Pacific. Shares in the region were mostly higher on Tuesday, as data showed China’s August trade data came in above expectations.