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Informist, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

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Equity Alert: Most Asian indices up; Powell's comments at Jackson Hole eyed

 

MUMBAI--0817 IST--Most Asian indices rose in early trade, looking past the slightly negative cues from the US markets which ended lower on Thursday. South Korea's Kospi led the gains for the second straight session while Australia's S&P ASX 200 showed weakness. Investors will now mainly focus on US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's speech at Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, due later in the day. 

 

Meanwhile, Japan's Nikkei 225 and Topix were higher by 0.1% and 0.4%, respectively, after the country's core inflation for July eased. The country's core inflation rate eased to 3.1% in July from 3.3% in June, CNBC reported. The figure — which strips out costs for fresh food — was higher than expectations of 3% by Reuters.

 

South Korea's Kospi extended Thursday's gains and was up nearly 1%. Meanwhile, Australia's S&P ASX 200 continued to fall after two consecutive sessions of losses. China's CSI 300 continued to show strength and was 0.8% higher and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 0.4%. 

 

Powell's speech at Jackson Hole will be monitored by investors for cues on a possibility of a rate cut at the central bank's September meeting. Powell's comments on the outlook of the US economy will also be watched. The CME FedWatch Tool showed the probability of a 25-basis-point rate cut in September has decreased from what it was a week ago. On Friday, investors saw a 75% chance of an interest rate cut in September, down from 92% a week ago. 

 

Following were the levels of key Asian indices at 0817 IST:

 

INDEX	LEVEL	CHANGE IN %
CSI 300 Index	4324.2971	0.84
Hang Seng Index	25204.77	0.4
Nikkei 225 Day	42630.07	0.05
TOPIX FIRST SECTION	3096.34	0.43
KOSPI	3169.49	0.88
FTSE Singapore Strait Times	4241.19	0.24
S&P/ASX 200 Index	9000.5	(-)0.21

 

 

(Gopika Balasubramanium)

 

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Equity Alert: US mkt ends dn; all eyes on Powell's comments at Jackson Hole

 

MUMBAI--0720 IST--The Nasdaq Composite closed in the red for the third straight sessions despite the selloff in technology stocks waning. Earlier this week, investors exited their profitable positions in technology companies, citing steep valuations and as enthusiasm around artificial intelligence phased out. The two other US benchmark indices – S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average – also ended lower on Thursday. The weakness came ahead of US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's address at the Jackson Hole Symposium. Investors also anticipate volatility in Friday's session.

 

The Nasdaq fell 0.3% to close at 21100.312 points and the S&P 500 closed 0.4% lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended Thursday's session 0.3% lower at 44785.50 points. Most sectoral indices also fell during the session, with nine of the 11 S&P 500 sectoral indices closing lower. Of these, the index pertaining to consumer staples companies declined 1.2?ter Walmart missed quarterly profit estimates and flagged higher costs from tariffs. Shares of the retailer fell 4.5%. Other consumer-facing stocks such as Target and Home Depot were also in focus.

 

"There's a bit of a mixed picture within the consumer space and there's uncertainty in the economy - whether that's the job market or whether that's prices (increasing) from a tariff pass-through," said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Northlight Asset Management.

 

All eyes are now on the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium, where Powell is scheduled to speak late Friday. Traders will closely monitor his speech for cues on the US federal funds rate cuts in September following recent weakness in the job market, and also on the outlook for the US economy amid US President Trump's complex policies. "Jitters over what's going to transpire tomorrow at Jackson Hole is certainly weighing on risk appetite a little bit with Chair Powell's speech," Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist for LPL Financial, was quoted as saying by Reuters. "There could be a decent selloff if we get a more hawkish than expected event."

 

Following are the closing levels of US indices Thursday:

 

INDEX	LAST LEVEL	CHANGE IN %
Dow Jones Industrial Average	44785.5	(-)0.34
NASDAQ Composite	21100.31	(-)0.34
S&P 500	6370.17	(-)0.40

 

(Gopika Balasubramanium)

 

US$1 = INR 87.27

 

End

 

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

 

All prices from National Stock Exchange, unless otherwise specified.

All percentage changes for share prices are rounded off to the nearest whole number; percentage changes for index values are rounded off to one decimal place.

All times are Indian Standard Time.

 

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