Major Indices
| Index | Performance |
|---|---|
| S&P 500 | -0.74% |
| DOW Jones | +2.61% |
| NASDAQ | +0.1% |
| FTSE 100 | -0.99% |
| DAX | -1.1% |
| Nikkei 225 | +1.47% |
| Shangai Composite | -0.7% |
World Sector Performance
American Housing Market
Mortgage payments have hit a new all time high of $2.6k, which is a 12.3% YoY increase. This has been driven by a combination of rate hikes and price increases. The higher for longer stance that the FED are taking only forecasts more bad months ahead for homeowners and homebuyers. Wednesdays data revealed some key statistics for August...
- Home price index rose 4.6% YoY
- Building permits grew 6.8% monthly
- New home sales declined 8.7% MoM
Redfin reported a 7% decrease in home listings this month, so clearly we are seeing a supply issue here also. The increase in price despite the decline in demand is somewhat surprising. Mortgage rates are currently sitting at around 7.5%
Corporate Credit Spreads
The difference between lower and higher corporate bond yields is increasing in Europe and decreasig in the US. A growing spread is an indicator of financial stress in a nations economy. This is interesting and has many analysts confused as a recession is more likely in the US than Europe, contradicting the theory behind credit spreads.
Eurozone inflation rate cools
Eurozone inflation rate falls to lowest in two years as the ECB's rate hikes succesfully prove to take their toll on the economy. Consumer prices in the 20 countries grew 4.3% YoY in September, down from the 5.2% in August. Core inflation fell to 4.5% from 5.3%. This data certainly supports that the ECB's hikes may have come to an eventual end.
Eurozone inflation YoY (Trading Economics)
Other Headlines
- AI researcher Anthropic received $1.25bn investment from Amazon
- The FTC and 17 US states filed a lawsuit against Amazon for violations including anti-discounting measures and excessive platform fees
- US GDP growth for Q2 2023 came in weaker than expected at 2.1% vs 2.4% expected
- The US core PCE index grew 0.1% MoM and 3.9% YoY, this was lower than expectations
- UK mortgage approvals hit 6 month low