Global equities retreat, as oil and dollar advance

NEW YORK/PARIS – Global equities fell on Thursday on investor jitters around the Federal Reserve’s three-day annual Jackson Hole symposium, as gold prices eased under pressure from a stronger US dollar.

The symposium started on Thursday, with traders awaiting Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech on Friday for hints about the likelihood of a September US rate cut.

“Jitters over what’s going to transpire tomorrow at Jackson Hole are certainly weighing on risk appetite a little bit with chair Powell’s speech,” said Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist for LPL Financial.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.34% to 44,785.50, the S&P 500 lost 0.40% to 6,370.17 and the Nasdaq Composite retreated 0.34% to 21,100.31.

Big-box retailer Walmart’s quarterly results dampened sentiment.

Traders had ramped up bets for a September cut following a surprisingly weak payrolls report at the start of this month, and were further encouraged after consumer price data showed limited upward pressure from tariffs.

But they lowered their expectations slightly following the release of minutes from the Fed’s July meeting. By Thursday, markets were pricing in a 70.4% chance of a September rate cut, compared to 83% on Wednesday, according to LSEG data IRPR.

The pan-European STOXX 600 closed flat, and major bourses were mixed.

The European Union said it would strive to ensure lower US tariffs apply to its car exports retroactively, as the EU and US detailed commitments made in a deal reached last month.

Analysts attributed a pullback in tech stocks this week to concerns that AI investments were not delivering returns.

Euro zone business activity accelerated in August, PMI data showed, with Germany registering its fastest growth since March and France’s downturn easing.

Stocks had been near recent highs during Asian trading, and Australia’s benchmark hit a new record.

The 10-year US Treasury yield added 3.2 basis points to 4.328%.

The euro was down 0.4% at USD 1.1604.

US President Donald Trump intensified his effort to influence the Fed on Wednesday, calling on Governor Lisa Cook to resign on the basis of allegations made by one of his political allies about mortgages she holds in Michigan and Georgia. Cook said she had “no intention of being bullied to step down” from her position at the central bank.

Deutsche Bank analysts in a research note attributed a rise in gold overnight to renewed concerns about the Fed’s independence.

“The news was a reminder of the lingering concerns over future Fed independence and risks of fiscal dominance, though the extent of the market reaction was fairly modest,” Deutsche Bank said.

State Street Markets’ Tim Graf said that although central bank independence was considered “sacrosanct” by markets, it was not yet problematic.

“Markets quite rightly look through this, price maybe a little bit of risk premium for sure, but it’s not something that I think really upsets the apple cart too much,” he said.

Spot gold prices fell 0.25% to USD 3,338.51. US gold futures settled 0.2% lower at USD 3,386.50.

Elsewhere in commodities, Brent oil futures finished up 1.24% at USD 67.67 per barrel and US crude settled up 1.29% to USD 63.52.

(Reporting by Chris Prentice in New York and Elizabeth Howcroft in Paris; Additional reporting by Johann M Cherian; Editing by Sharon Singleton, Mark Potter, and Sonali Paul)