ASX 200 to fall, Fed Minutes highlights + Morgans' reporting season upgrades

ASX 200 futures are trading 23 points lower, down -0.32% as of 8:20 am AEST.

S&P 500 SESSION CHART

MARKETS

• S&P 500 finished lower and at intraday lows
• S&P 500 continues to fall below its 50-day moving average, marking its lowest close since 10 July, while the Nasdaq finished at its lowest level since 27 June
• WTI crude settled 2.2% lower, closing below US$80 for the first time since 2 August
• The market’s path of least resistance has U-turned to the downside, with bearish concerns about China worsening credit crisis
• July’s FOMC meeting minutes contained no surprises, flagging inflation risks may merit more interest rate hikes (Bloomberg)
• Fitch flags junk issuers' capacity to pay back debt (Bloomberg)
• Bond investors bet on higher-for-longer as US economy stands tall (Reuters)
• Hedge funds dump Chinese stocks aggressively as growth outlook dims (Reuters)

STOCKS

• Intel to call off US$5.4bn acquisition of Tower semis as Chinese approval time runs out (Bloomberg)
• General Motors face UAW strike threat (CNBC)
• Occidental to buy Canadian startup Carbon Engineering for US$1.1bn (Bloomberg)
• Tesla cuts China prices for a second time in three days (Bloomberg)
• TPG Capital approaches EY about buying stake in consulting arm (FT)

EARNINGS

• On inventory: "With the benefit of a much-leaner inventory position than a year ago, the team was able to quickly respond to rapidly-changing topline trends throughout the second quarter, while continuing to focus on the guest experience.” – CEO CEO Brian Cornell
• On student loan repayments: "... the upcoming resumption of student loan repayments will put additional pressure on the already strained budgets of tens of millions of households...[our] updated sales expectation is meaningfully softer than our expectation at the beginning of the year.” – CFO Michael Fiddelke
• On theft: "During the first 5 months of this year, our stores saw a 120% increase in theft incidents involving violence or threats of violence.”

CHINA

• China's Zhongrong missed dozens of payments as shadow bank's troubles grow (Bloomberg)
• China home prices fall for first time this year in further sign of the deepening property downturn (Reuters)
• Banks slash China growth forecasts, with JPMorgan seeing 4.8% (Bloomberg)
• China digs deeper into toolbag in grapple with investor gloom (Bloomberg)

ECONOMY

• UK headline inflation falls but core holds firm (Reuters)
• Eurozone industrial output jumps more than expected (Reuters)
• US housing starts surge in July amid severe shortage (Reuters)
• Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow model upgrades Q3 GDP outlook to 5.8% (Atlanta Fed)
• US student loan debate intensifies as Credit Karma survey flagged that over half the borrowers will be forced to choose between making loan repayments or covering necessities like rent and groceries (CNBC)
  
  

DEEPER DIVE

Fed Minutes: Upside risks to inflation

The Fed Minutes flagged concerns about the pace of inflation and said more rate hikes could be on the horizon unless conditions change. Here are the key highlights:

Morgans' Two Reporting Season Upgrades

China Cancels a Key Data Point

Unofficially, there are estimates which say it could be as high as 50%. One private sector survey already suggests nearly half of the country's university graduates end up coming home less than six months after they graduate but cannot find a job in a major city.

And as this New York Times graphic shows, the divergence between adult unemployment and youth unemployment has been growing dire for a long time.