Global wrap: US solid economic data trumped trade war fear - ANZ

In a global market wrap, analysts at ANZ Bank New Zealand Limited US equities pushed higher through the New York afternoon as solid economic data trumped trade war fears. 

Key Quotes:

"US stocks were up 0.5-0.7% at the time of writing with cyclical energy and technology shares offsetting defensive utility and consumer staple declines. European bourses caught the start of the US rally, rising into their close to be relatively unchanged on the day. Pressure on emerging markets was isolated to Brazil and Argentina. US yields rose 3-5bps across the curve on the back of positive data, with the 10-year yield reaching 2.977%. The USD was mixed. Oil rose 2.5% on account of supply disruption risks posed by Hurricane Florence. Gold was little changed.

DATA/EVENT PULSE

BOOMER: US NFIB small business optimism beat expectations and hit a record high of 108.8 in August – pointing to booming conditions for businesses in the US. Job creation plans and unfilled job openings both set new records.

ANOTHER BOOMER: In another strong US release, job openings reached 6.939m – a record high and well above expectations of 6.675m. The number of job openings is now well above the number of unemployed (at 6.28m), consistent with considerable tightness in the US labour market.  

MARGINAL: German business confidence showed some marginal improvement in September, with ZEW current situation index increasing from 72 to 76. This potentially points to stabilisation after moderation over 2018."