Global Factors influencing ASX stocks on 29 August 2023

On 29 August 2023, at AEST 11:35 AM, the benchmark index S&P/ASX 200 is trading up today, gaining 10.50 points or 0.15%, and is currently trading at 7,170.30 levels. Out of 11 sectors, 7 sectors are trading higher along with the S&P/ASX 200. The Consumer Discretionary and Consumer Staples sectors were the top 2 gaining sectors, up by 3.11% and 1.95% in their index values.

Also read: Mid-Market: S&P/ASX 200 Trading Higher By 0.40%; Gained By Materials Stocks       

On that note, let us look at a few global reasons impacting the stock market today:

1. Some of the key U.S. indices ended higher in their previous session. NASDAQ Composite, NASDAQ-100, S&P 500, and Dow jones ended higher by 0.84%, 0.74%, 0.63%, and 0.62% respectively.
2. Crude oil prices displayed a lack of direction on Monday, with some traders pinning their hopes on potential stimulus actions from China, the world's leading oil consumer, and the prospect of North Atlantic storms impacting the market positively. Conversely, others were cautious, speculating that broader economic uncertainties could prevent a significant surge beyond the US$80 per barrel mark. Notably, the U.S. crude benchmark ended the previous week with a 1.8% decline, following a 2.3% drop in the preceding week. This reversal came after seven consecutive weeks of gains, during which WTI crude prices surged by nearly 20%.
3. According to government data released on Tuesday, Japan witnessed an uptick in its jobless rate, which reached 2.7% in July compared to the previous month. This figure exceeded the expectations of economists, who had anticipated a rate of 2.5%, as indicated by a Reuters poll, and also surpassed June's rate of 2.5%. Additionally, separate labour ministry data revealed that the jobs-to-applicants ratio declined to 1.29 in July, marking the third consecutive month of decrease. This development contradicted the median forecast of economists, who had expected the ratio to remain unchanged at 1.30.
4.  The Dow climbed, propelled by a 5% jump in 3M shares. 3M is on the verge of sealing a US$5.5 billion settlement to resolve claims of supplying defective earplugs to the U.S. military, as reported by Bloomberg. This financial development coincides with upcoming data releases shaping the Federal Reserve's policy decisions.
5. The Hang Seng and FTSE 100 is up by 0.97% and 0.07%.

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