On Wednesday, August 21, U.S. stocks closed higher in cautious trading as investors digested a payroll revision and Federal Reserve minutes, cementing expectations for a September rate cut. The upcoming Jackson Hole symposium is adding to market expectations.

Turning to economic data, FOMC minutes reiterated expectations for a rate cut in September, underscoring continued progress in disinflation. At the same time, U.S. mortgage applications fell 10.1% in the week ended August 16, reflecting weaker demand in the housing market.

Nine of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors closed higher, with consumer discretionary stocks posting the largest percentage gains while financials and energy closed lower.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.14% to close at 40,890.49. The S&P 500 ended the day up 0.42% at 5,620.85 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.57% to end the session at 17,918.99.

Asian markets today

• On Thursday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 0.67% higher at 38,207.50, led by gains in the paper and pulp, marine transport and gas and water sectors.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.21% to end the day at 8,027.00, led by gains in the IT, industrials and A-REITs sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 gained 0.17% to close at 24,811.50 and Nifty 500 closed 0.31% higher at 23,440.70.
• China’s Shanghai Composite lost 0.27% to end the session at 2,848.77, and the Shenzhen CSI declined 0.26% to close at 3,313.14.
• The Hang Seng in Hong Kong ended the session up 1.44% at 17,641.00.

Eurozone at 06:15 ET

• The European STOXX 50 index rose 0.33 percent.
• The German DAX rose by 0.31 percent.
• The French CAC rose 0.33%.
• The British FTSE 100 was up 0.25 percent.

Commodities at 6:15 a.m. ET

• Crude oil WTI traded 0.22% higher at USD 72.08/barrel and Brent rose 0.37% to USD 76.39/barrel.
• Natural gas fell 0.55% to $2,163.
• Gold traded 0.12% lower at $2,544.55, silver gained 0.31% to $29,630 and copper fell 0.48% to $4.1700.

US futures at 6:15 a.m. ET

Dow futures rose 0.09%, S&P 500 futures added 0.09% and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.12%.

Forex at 6:15 a.m. ET

• The US dollar index rose 0.24% to 101.29, USD/JPY rose 0.39% to 145.82 and USD/AUD rose 0.09% to 1.4842.
• European stocks rose slightly, oil prices fell for the fifth day in a row and the dollar remained subdued after Fed minutes pointed to a possible US interest rate cut in September. Economic data and Fed expectations influenced the markets.

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