US equity futures slipped on Labor Day as fresh tanker attacks in the Strait of Hormuz pushed Brent crude toward $98 a barrel — its highest in seven weeks. Markets now price a near 60% chance the Fed hikes rates on September 16, with Friday’s CPI the decisive print. The yen surged to a seven-month high, copper hit a record, and ASX 200 futures point to a flat open.
US nonfarm payrolls blew past expectations at 162,000 — nearly three times consensus — sending Fed rate hike odds above 60% and dragging the S&P 500 lower. Over the weekend the US–Iran tanker war escalated dramatically in the Strait of Hormuz, with oil set for further gains. All eyes now turn to next Friday’s CPI report, the decisive number for the September 16 FOMC meeting.
Wall Street sold off to close out August as fresh US airstrikes on Iran and tanker attacks in the Strait of Hormuz sent WTI crude surging 5.9% to $90.82 a barrel. The S&P 500 fell 0.71% to 7,631.47 while the Nasdaq dropped 1.03% to 26,099.77, dragged by a 2.1% slide in semiconductor stocks. Bond yields spiked across the globe, with the US 10-year hitting 4.79% and Japan’s 10-year breaching 3% for the first time since 1996. ASX 200 futures point to a weaker open, down 79 points.
Wall Street ended lower on Monday as renewed US–Iran military strikes sent Brent crude surging above $90 and pushed Treasury yields to their highest since January 2025. Despite the pullback, US stocks closed August with gains — the S&P 500 up 2.6% and Nasdaq up 3.9%. Fed Chair Warsh’s hawkish Jackson Hole speech has markets pricing a 64% chance of a September rate hike, with Friday’s nonfarm payrolls the key swing factor.
Fed Chair Warsh’s hawkish Jackson Hole debut sent two-year yields surging 12 basis points and rate-hike odds above 50% for September. Wall Street slipped with the S&P 500 down 0.25% to 7,711.76, while a U.S. strike on Iranian launchers at Larak Island kept the geopolitical risk premium elevated and ASX futures point to a weaker Monday open at 9,009.
Nvidia’s blockbuster $92 billion quarter and 70% forward growth guidance carried Wall Street higher on Thursday, with the Nasdaq surging 1.6% even as every other S&P 500 sector declined. Core PCE inflation held stubbornly at 3.3%, keeping rate hike expectations alive ahead of Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s Jackson Hole keynote on Friday.
Wall Street traded flat as July PCE inflation came in hotter than expected at 3.7%, reinforcing bets the Fed will hold rates in September. After the bell, Nvidia’s revenue more than doubled to $96.2 billion but a lower-than-hoped margin guide sent shares down 2%, while Salesforce and CrowdStrike both surged 12% on strong outlooks.
Wall Street advanced modestly as tech stocks rebounded ahead of Nvidia’s earnings and oil plunged 5.8% on Strait of Hormuz reopening hopes. US consumer confidence hit a seven-month low while the US–Canada trade war escalated with retaliatory tariffs. ASX 200 futures point higher as July CPI data and the RBA’s hawkish tightening bias take centre stage.
Global equities took a tech-fuelled beating on Tuesday as a South Korean media report triggered a 10% KOSPI collapse and sent the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index down 7.9% — its worst session in months. The S&P 500 lost 1.4% to 7,365 while the Nasdaq 100 shed 3.3% as AI spending concerns compounded the chip selloff. The ASX opens modestly higher, with Australia’s May CPI and an RBA Deputy Governor speech the key local events today.