Market snapshot: events to watch during summer slumber
Many of the big swingers in the City and on Wall Street are away on holiday, which can limit stock market action. But ii's head of markets has found plenty to interest investors.
19th August 2025 08:21
by Richard Hunter from interactive investor
The summer slumber continued amid traditionally thin trading and with little fresh news of note to capture the imagination of investors.
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The health of the US consumer could inject some interest as the week pans out, with updates due from the likes of Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT), The Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) and Target Corp (NYSE:TGT), any one of which has the potential to upset the applecart.
Inflation remains something of a concern for consumers and the Federal Reserve alike, while other recent data has revealed a moderating labour market and the possibility that some big ticket purchases may have been brough forward in the face of a potentially deteriorating environment.
In turn, the Fed will also have its chance to reflect on the state of the nation this week. Prior to the Jackson Hole symposium, minutes from the central bank's latest meeting are due tomorrow, where there will be further justification of its decision hitherto to dial back on reducing interest rates in the light of inflationary factors arising from the imposed tariffs.
Chair Jerome Powell will then give an update on the Fed groupthink in Wyoming and whether the more recent weakness in the job market is sufficient to force its hand. Under its dual mandate, there is a responsibility to ensure the health of the labour market as well as keeping inflation under relative control. The market remains of the opinion that a September cut is on the cards, with a near 85% consensus that easing is imminent.
Meanwhile, the main indices were unable to make any meaningful progress, not helped by the headwind of some mild profit taking in the mega cap technology stocks, where Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Meta Platforms Inc Class A (NASDAQ:META) slipped. There was more positive news for Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC), where it was announced that Softbank of Japan was taking a $2 billion stake, lifting the shares by more than 4% on the day to leave the shares higher by 23% this year.
The market remains close to its recent record highs, where some disproportionate pressure could arise given the lighter levels of trading. Even so, in the year to date the Dow Jones is up by 5.6%, with stronger gains for the more tech focused S&P500 and Nasdaq indices, which have added 9.6% and 12% respectively.
The lacklustre level of trading followed through to Asian markets overnight and fed through to the UK in turn at the open.
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Some further weakness in the oil price has left the commodity down by 12% this year, with BP (LSE:BP.) and Shell (LSE:SHEL) weakening slightly as a result. Broker price downgrades weighed on the likes of Fresnillo (LSE:FRES) and Legal & General Group (LSE:LGEN), although on the flip side JD Sports Fashion (LSE:JD.) rose by more than 2% following an upgrade.
The FTSE100 traded around the waterline, leaving the index some 0.6% away from its record intraday high recorded last week and up by 12.1% in the year to date. The stability of the index constituents, underpinned by an average dividend yield of 3.3% which further propels the total return, has increasingly attracted buying interest from overseas in what has been a rare show of strength from a previously forgotten investment destination.
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