Focus on BRICS summit, Jackson Hole meeting & Nvidia results | MarketTalk: What’s up today? | Swissquote

Show notes

The week starts with weak appetite as Chinese banks cut loan rates less than expected; the 1-year LPR was cut by 10bp to a record low versus 15bp cut expected by analysts, while the 5-year LPR was left unchanged despite pressure from Beijing. Chinese banks’ decision to keep the 5-year rate steady is confusing for investors, in the middle of a property crisis. The Hang Seng index sank further into bear market, and the global risk sentiment is less than ideal as healthy economic data from the US, and darker clouds over China cast shadow on both stock and bond markets.
This week, investors will have their eyes and ears on Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole speech due Friday.
Elsewhere, the BRICS summit will take place this week between 22nd and 24th of August. A month ago, South Africa said that 40 more nations wanted to join BRICS, and 23 of them formally applied to become members including Saudi Arabia, Iran, and UAE. They would like to drop US dollar and eventually start using member-state currencies to settle their trade terms between them, and there are rumours that the BRICS countries could even issue a gold-based currency to replace the US dollar, as many nations are willing to free themselves from the risks of holding and using US dollars.
Listen to find out more!