Markets Today:Tech Shares Lead the Way, Softbank Up 9%, Gold Retreats, FTSE 100 Eyes Range Break. ECB, US CPI Ahead

[Ben Graham]

Asia Market Wrap - Tech Shares Lead the Way, SoftBank Up 9%

Most Read: US CPI Preview: Implications for the DXY & Federal Reserve

Major benchmarks for Japan, South Korea, and mainland China increased, while those for Australia and Hong Kong decreased. MSCI’s Asia-Pacific index was unchanged following five straight days of increases.

Japan's Nikkei .N225 gained 1.2% to hit a record as tech, energy and utilities firms jumped. South Korean shares .KS11 rose 0.6%.

Asian technology stocks had a strong day, thanks to a huge surge in Oracle's stock. This boosted stock markets in Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea to new record highs, even though the session was expected to be quiet ahead of key U.S. inflation data.

Japan's tech investor, SoftBank, saw its shares jump by 9% after its partner, Oracle, experienced its biggest one-day gain since 1992, soaring 36%. This brought the 48-year-old company close to a market value of $1 trillion.

Oracle's success was due to its positive outlook on how artificial intelligence will increase demand for its cloud services. This caused a domino effect, leading to gains for almost all AI-related stocks in Asia, with the Nikkei index rising 1.2%, Taiwan's market up 1%, and Chinese blue-chip stocks gaining 1.8%.

Source: LSEG

European Open - Euro Shares Trickle Higher

European stocks went up slightly as investors were being careful while they waited for two major announcements: the European Central Bank's decision on monetary policy and an important inflation report from the United States, both due later in the day.

The overall European STOXX 600 index rose by 0.1% to 553.03 points. The personal and household goods sector led the gains, increasing by 0.5%.

This sector was helped by a 1.5% rise in the share price of Kering, the company that owns Gucci. Kering announced that it will delay the full purchase of the Italian fashion brand Valentino until at least 2028. This decision pushed back an expensive deal that had been a burden on the heavily indebted company.

On the FX front, The U.S. dollar index went up slightly by 0.1%, marking its third straight day of increases. The euro also saw a small gain, rising 0.04% to $1.1699.

The dollar was flat against the Japanese yen, trading at 147.43 yen, following new data that showed Japanese wholesale prices rose 2.7% in the year up to August. This increase, which was faster than the previous month, suggests that inflation is becoming a persistent problem in Japan.

The Australian dollar slipped 0.1% to 0.66095, pulling back from the highest levels it had reached since November on Wednesday. This happened as the prices of commodities like crude oil and gold gave up their recent gains.

The offshore Chinese yuan strengthened slightly by 0.03%, trading at 7.1184 per dollar in early Asian trade. The New Zealand dollar slipped 0.1% to 0.5936.

The British pound was unchanged for the day, trading at 1.3525.

For more on the Euro, read USD/JPY Technical: Mild JPY strength detected ahead of US CPI

Currency Power Balance

Source: OANDA Labs

Oil prices dropped a bit due to concerns about a weaker demand for oil in the US and the risk of too much oil being available on the market. However, the price decrease was not significant because of ongoing worries about attacks in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine.

Brent crude futures went down by 11 cents, or 0.16%, to $67.38 per barrel. Meanwhile, US West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell by 13 cents, or 0.2%, to $63.54 per barrel.

For more on Oil prices, read Oil prices shoot up from a Donald Trump post

Gold prices went down slightly but remained close to their all-time highs. This happened as investors were waiting for new U.S. consumer inflation data, which is set to be released later in the day. This comes after recent producer price figures were weaker than expected, which has increased the belief that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next week.

Spot gold was down 0.2%, trading at $3,632.48 per ounce. The price had reached a record high of $3,673.95 on Tuesday.

For more information on Gold, read Gold (XAU/USD) Coils Ahead of US CPI… Are Bulls Exhausted?

Economic Data Releases and Final Thoughts

Looking at the economic calendar, the European session will be busy as markets focus on the ECB rate decision due out today.

Investors might not be fully considering the disagreements that some members of the European Central Bank (ECB) have with the idea that the economy is in a "good place," a view that has been promoted by President Christine Lagarde and other more aggressive members. However, recent public statements and a higher-than-expected core inflation rate now suggest that the ECB has probably finished its period of cutting interest rates.

Attention will then turn to the US CPI release. August's Consumer Price Index (CPI) data is being released today, and we expect a core inflation rate of 0.3% for the month, which aligns with what most people are predicting.

This comes after yesterday's news that U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI) data was surprisingly weak, falling by 0.1% for both the main and core measures. July's numbers were also adjusted lower. A big reason for this was a significant drop in "trade services," which acts as a measure for company profits. This suggests that, for now, companies are absorbing higher costs from tariffs instead of passing them on to customers.

This could be because companies are either worried about future consumer demand or they are trying to avoid a negative reaction from the public or politicians by not raising prices. In any case, it gives us more confidence that the new CPI data won't be higher than 0.3%. This would likely support the belief that the Federal Reserve will make three small interest rate cuts (25 basis points each) by the end of the year. Unless today's inflation numbers are much lower than expected, there won't be much talk about a larger 50-basis-point rate cut next week.

For more on this, read US CPI Preview: Implications for the DXY & Federal Reserve

For all market-moving economic releases and events, see the MarketPulse Economic Calendar. (click to enlarge)

Chart of the Day - FTSE Index

From a technical standpoint, the FTSE is eyeing a range break having been stuck in consolidation for the entire week.

The 100-day MA still holding firm as support with a candle close above the red square on the chart likely leading to further upside.

The FTSE did attempt a break yesterday morning but bulls failed to hold onto gains and close above the range.

Looking at resistance ahead, yesterday's high at 9296 will be key before the 9309 and 9358 come into focus.

Support is provided by the 100-day MA at 9233 before the 200-day MA at 9186 comes into focus.

FTSE 100 Four-Hour Chart, September 3. 2025

Source: TradingView.com (click to enlarge)

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