Monday's Market Update (August 12, 2024)

12 Aug 2024 by rate3

On Monday stocks wavered, mostly in the red, as investors awaited key economic data. Inflation expectations fell to a record low, while tech stocks outperformed other sectors. Megacap stocks were mixed, with Tesla and Home Depot leading the declines. Internationally, oil rose by approximately 4% due to geopolitical tensions once again. BTC dipped below 60K, while ETH continued to be rejected by the 2.7K sales wall.

Crypto

Scientists used a supercomputer to simulate how social norms change over time. They found that norms can influence behavior and disappear. The study was conducted by scientists from the RIKEN Center for Computational Science in Japan. "The research shows that cooperative norms are difficult to sustain if the population consists of a single well-mixed community. However, if the population is subdivided into several smaller communities, cooperative norms evolve more easily". As we always have been saying the decentralization is the key to our future. (source)

World Markets

India's annual inflation rate plunged to 3.54% (the RBI’s target range is 4%) in July, well below forecasts.> This is the lowest in nearly five years, but likely temporary due to base effects. Food prices eased, while fuel costs dropped faster. Overall, consumer prices rose 1.4% from June. 1Y trend: "Down" (MOSPI)
Turkey's unemployment rate surged to 9.2% in June, the highest in 10 months, as job losses outpaced new hires. Youth unemployment also jumped significantly. 1Y trend: "Down" (TU)

Commodities

Oil prices surged above 77.5 on supply concerns amid Middle East tensions and positive economic data. OPEC cut demand forecasts and extended production cuts, while the IEA is expected to lower its forecast. 1Y trend: "Up"