S&P 500 — US Large Cap Index
FTSE 100 — UK Blue Chips
Euro Stoxx 50 — Eurozone Leaders
DAX 40 — German Equities
CAC 40 — French Market Index
Nikkei 225 — Japan Benchmark
Hang Seng — Hong Kong Index
Shanghai Composite — China Mainland
ASX 200 — Australian Market
TSX Composite — Canada Index
Nifty 50 — India Large Cap
STI Index — Singapore Market
KOSPI — South Korea Index
Bovespa — Brazil Equities
JSE Top 40 — South Africa Index
IPC Index — Mexico Market
The New Zealand dollar steadied around $0.591 on Monday after falling 0.6% to an over one-week low on Friday as the US dollar strengthened following hawkish comments from Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh. In his first major speech since taking over as Fed chair in May, Warsh indicated that further interest rate increases may be necessary to contain inflation, prompting traders to increase bets on a September rate hike. The shift in US rate expectations outweighed support for the kiwi dollar from expectations of further policy tightening by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. The RBNZ is widely expected to deliver another quarter-point rate hike at its meeting later this week, with most economists anticipating one more hike, potentially taking the rate to 3% or higher by December. On the data front, New Zealand’s business confidence eased slightly in August from July’s five-month high but remained strong overall.
