Daily Summary: US100 struggles to defend 15,000 points

The rise in Chinese indexes today has boosted the sentiment of the global stock market. After declaring support for the real estate market and reducing stock transaction taxes, Chinese authorities reportedly asked local investment funds not to sell shares to support the indexes, according to Bloomberg.

This weekend central banks conference in Jackson Hole passed without much notice in the markets. Despite declining inflation and signs of slowing down, central banks are not likely changing their hawkish message – chances of Fed rate hikes in September, November, and December have slightly increased.

The German Dax gained today, rising by nearly 1% and closing the session around 15,800 points. CAC40 gained 1.4%. The market in the UK was closed today, so the gains took place on lower volumes.

Moderate increases in Wall Street indexes on the first day of the week. US100 is up 0.70%, and US500 0.60%. Shares of 3M company are up almost 5% after a proposed legal settlement of $5.5 billion, which was lower than market forecasts and could reduce uncertainties around the company's legal issues.

The only significant macro publication today was the Fed's production indicator for Dallas in August. The data came in at -17.2, slightly better than analysts' expectations of -18.0 and -20.0 the previous month. The report still indicates that the US industry is not in the best condition.

The Japanese Yen is one of the weaker currencies today. USDJPY rates are heading towards historical highs, with USDJPY gaining 0.10% to 146.5. The yen rate at these levels has historically raised concerns among politicians and BoJ bankers.

One of the stronger currencies today is the Australian Dollar. AUDUSD is trading nearly 0.30% higher at 0.6425.

US natural gas (NATGAS) started the new week with a bullish price gap. NATGAS was about 2% higher during the day, but the gains were halted by the end of the session, and NATGAS is currently down 0.45%. Both WTI and Brent are up around 0.5%.

Contracts for palladium and platinum are up about 2.5%, while gold and silver remain quiet with gold increasing by 0.3% and silver experiencing slight declines.

The cryptocurrency market sentiment is mixed, but Bitcoin has defended the area around 26,000 USD and is currently trading at 26,200 USD, slightly improving the sentiment among altcoins.

According to recent reports from WSJ, Binance is considering the profitability of continuing its business in Russia. All options are on the table, including the possibility of complete shutdown of once a significant market, which has recently posed many challenges.