Blue-chip poised for second consecutive day of losses.

US stocks closed just below their all-time highs, buoyed by consecutive days of gains across the major indices, which renewed the recent rally on Wall Street.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.53 per cent to 40,211.72, the S&P 500 gained 0.28 per cent to 5,631.22 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.40 per cent to 18,472.57.

Shares of Macy’s dropped 11.7 per cent after the department store scrapped buyout talks with Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital.

The prospect of a second Trump presidency sent shares of Trump Media & Technology Group soaring 31.4 per cent.

In Asia, Japan returned from a public holiday, with the Nikkei index up 0.4 per cent.

The Shanghai Composite index fell 0.3 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index lost 1.4 per cent, having already dropped 1.5 per cent the day before soft economic data from China heightened the risk that Beijing could miss its 5 per cent growth target this year, barring forceful stimulus.

In commodity markets, gold rose 0.2 per cent to $2,426.18 an ounce, nearing a two-month high. Oil prices ticked down on worries about a slowing Chinese economy crimping demand.

Brent futures fell 0.2 per cent to $84.72 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude also slipped 0.2 per cent to $81.77.

Goldman Sachs reported a significant increase in profit for the second quarter, exceeding analysts’ expectations.

The survey by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) indicates that 82 per cent of British businesses are encountering challenges in recruiting staff, an increase from 69 per cent earlier this year.

BlackRock’s assets surged to a record $10.65 trillion in Q2, driven by higher client asset values and increased investments in its ETFs.

This week, China’s spotlight is on the Third Plenum, which runs from Monday to Thursday in Beijing.

The spotlight this week will be on UK consumer prices and producer prices data, as the Bank of England moves closer to its next monetary policy decision.

The US sees a busy second-quarter earnings season, with big names like Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Netflix, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing set to release their reports.

Important economic updates are also expected, including the European Central Bank’s rate decision, likely to remain unchanged but possibly provide future guidance.

Source: https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/ftse-100-live-london-higher-081110319.html