1. U.S. Markets Moves up Ahead of Fed Chairman Speech
Stocks in the U.S. market moved up after opening flat, ahead of the speech by Jerome Powell. Market participants are looking for clues from the Federal Reserve Chairman on when and how the country will slow down purchasing of bonds.
Both the S&P 500 and NASDAQ 100 moved up ahead of the speech, which investors are keenly looking out for. European stock index, the Stoxx Europe 600 index, also gained nearing the seventh straight month of closing in the green.
Stoxx Europe is up by 0.19%
Dow Jones is up by 0.43%
NASDAQ is up by 0.59%
China To Ban Overseas IPOs Of Some Tech Firms
According to the latest reports, China is preparing laws to ban tech companies whose data poses potential security risks from listing overseas countries. China’s government said last month it will supervise and regulate all firms listed offshore. The news laws aim to tighten scrutiny of overseas IPOs of companies that collect a larger amount of user’s data or create content that could pose possible security risks.
U.S. To Investigate Peloton’s Treadmill Injuries
American exercise equipment company Peloton Interactive said on Friday the U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security have opened an investigation over injuries from its exercise machines. Peloton recalled its Tread+ product in May, and this was just weeks after saying there were no issues in using the exercise machine. The stock is down by nearly 7% in NASDAQ.
U.S. Bond Funds See Higher Inflows In Week To Aug. 25: Lipper
According to Lipper data, the U.S. bond funds have witnessed a huge rise in net inflows to $7.47 billion(Rs 54,970 crores) in the week. This is a 16% increase from the previous week’s inflows and can be considered as a preventive measure because of the long-awaited speech by Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Investors are waiting for what Chair Jerome Powell might say on Friday about stimulus tapering plans.
No Ongoing Risks To User Data From Recent Hack: T-Mobile
The third-largest U.S. wireless carrier T-Mobile said on Friday it was confident there were no continuing risks to user data from the hack that happened earlier this month. The company said last week that the personal data of more than 4 crore former and prospective customers and 78 lakh existing customers was stolen during the breach. But now the firm says more data leak has been found, taking the total number to 5.3 crores.
Oil Rises On Fear Of Storm At Gulf Of Mexico Production Hub
Oil prices rose on Friday because of the fear of supply disruptions as energy companies began shutting production in the Gulf of Mexico expecting a hurricane to hit soon. Brent Crude Oil is up by more than 1%. Brent Crude is already 11% up in the week, the biggest weekly jump since June 2020.
China Vaccine Shows 80%+ Effectiveness Against Serious Covid Cases
A new vaccine developed by China’s Chongqing Zhifei Biological has shown an 82% effectiveness against serious cases of Covid-19 infections. This vaccine is expected to help the world’s largest population complete its vaccination drive.
China’s current vaccines including Sinopharm are regarded as a flop by the international community, failing to produce necessary antibodies even after 2 doses.
