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European shares closed the day mostly higher. Spain’s Ibex closed just off the highest level going back to 2008. The high price from August 20’s closed at 15396.80. Today’s closing level was 5395.10.

Italy’s FTSE MIB was the biggest gainer today with a rise of 1.14%.

A snapshot of the closing levels shows:

• German DAX rose 50.71 points or 0.21% to 23748.87
• France’s CAC rose 71.69 points or 0.92% at 7896.94
• UK’s FTSE 100 fell -6.25 points or -0.07% at 9277.04.
• Spain’s Ibex rose 6.92 points or 0.57% at 15395.11
• Italy’s FTSE MIB rose 487.31 points or 1.14% at 43053.71.

As London/European traders head for the exits,

• Gold is trading at a new record. The price is currently up $38 or 1.05% at $3681.14.
• Silver is up $0.44 or 1.03% at $42.60. That’s its highest level since September 2011
• Bitcoin is down $-552 or -0.48% at $114,770.
• Crude oil is trading up $0.45 and $63.14

A snapshot of the US yield curve showing a parallel shift to the downside by about 2 basis points

• 2-year yield 3.538%, -1.9 basis
• 5 year yield 3.605%, -1.9 basis points
• 10 year yield 4.037% -2.3 basis points
• 30 year yield 4.653%, -2.6 basis points

This article was written by Greg Michalowski at investinglive.com.

• Both sides acknowledged stable trade ties is significant
• Frictions are normal, important to respect each other’s core concerns
• Important to find solutions through dialogues
• Reached framework agreement on TikTok

There isn’t much of a hint here on what’s coming next with US-China negotiations.

This article was written by Adam Button at investinglive.com.

Comments from an interview with Reuters

• European countries ‘need to do their share’
• US willing to consider stronger sanctions on Russia
• China-US talks could result in another 90-rollover of tariff truce
• Chinese negotiators realize they have 3.5 years to de-risk US trade relationship to avoid a decoupling
• China initially demanded ‘compensation’ for TikTok sale through tariff, export control concessions

I just don’t see the momentum to get further Russian oil sanctions. WTI crude is up 70-cents to $63.39 today but is languishing near the lows of the range.

This article was written by Adam Button at investinglive.com.

Here is a chart from National Bank that should send a shudder down the back of every CAD bull. It highlights industrial investment in Canada and the US since 1980.

For much of the period, investment was closely aligned with the US outperforming for periods but the trends aligning. That changed in 2015 as a stark divergence hit, opening up a large gap that is worsening by the year. In fact, Canadian investment in industrial machinery and equipment is at the lowest since records began in 1981.

National Bank doesn’t mince words:

The divergence with the US is nothing
short of appalling. How did we get here? Years of excessive regulation, and a chronic lack of ambition by successive
governments in promoting domestic transformation of our natural resources—recently made worse by Washington’s
protectionist agenda. That failure has eroded Canada’s manufacturing base and left us at risk of becoming irrelevant in
global supply chains.

Economists there highlight some potential spinoffs from a boost in military spending but call for a multi-pronged approach, including:

• A competitive tax regime
• A sweeping reduction in red
  tape
• Clear laws on developing natural resources

This article was written by Adam Button at investinglive.com.

We got some good news on US-China talks today with a deal on TikTok and a planned Trump-Xi fall for Friday. S&P 500 futures are up 20 points, or 0.3% after a flat finish on Friday.

The soft NY Fed manufacturing survey certainly didn’t hurt the mood as market participants see it more of a sign of rate cuts than a looming recession.

The big pre-market gainer is Tesla, which is up 7% after Elon Musk disclosed that he purchased $1 billion in the open market, his largest buy ever. I have been touting the technical breakout in Tesla since late last week.

This article was written by Adam Button at investinglive.com.

This is a positive line on tariffs, though more of an allusion than a hint at any real progress. We will have to see what unfolds on Friday between Trump and Xi but expectations for a breakthrough are minimal.

This article was written by Adam Button at investinglive.com.

• Manufacturing sales prior month 0.3%
• Manufacturing sales for July 2.5% versus 1.8% estimate

Canada Wholesale Trade statistics for July:

• Prior month 0.7%
• Wholesale trade 1.2% vs 1.3% estimate

• Subsector gains: 4 of 7 subsectors rose, covering ~75% of wholesale trade

  • Motor vehicles & parts: +5.1%

  • Building materials & supplies: +2.7%

• Year-over-year: +4.3% vs July 2024

• Volume terms: +0.8% in July

Details of the manufacturing sales shows:

• Transportation equipment sales rebounded +8.6% to $11.4B in July after four monthly declines.

  • Motor vehicles: +11.4%

  • Motor vehicle parts: +7.2%

  • Aerospace products and parts: +6.5%

  • Seasonal shutdowns in Ontario were less pronounced this year due to a broader production slowdown linked to new US tariffs.

  • Exports of motor vehicles and parts rose +6.7%.

  • Aerospace manufacturers showed stronger-than-usual July output, reflecting solid demand.

• Petroleum and coal product sales increased +6.2% to $7.2B in July (after +11.6% in June).

  • Growth driven by ramp-up in refined petroleum production after April–May refinery shutdowns.

  • Sales in constant dollars: +4.5%.

  • Year-over-year sales: -12.7% despite recent gains.

• Total inventories rose +0.8% to $121.2B in July.

  • Goods in process: +2.0%

  • Raw materials: +1.0%

  • Finished products: -0.5%

  • Machinery: +3.8%

  • Petroleum & coal products: +2.6%

  • Miscellaneous manufacturing: -10.3%

• Inventory-to-sales ratio fell to 1.72 from 1.75 in June, indicating slightly quicker turnover.

• Unfilled orders edged down -0.1% to $112.3B, with notable declines in miscellaneous manufacturing (-14.1%) and plastics & rubber (-9.0%).

The Bank of Canada will meet this week and announce its interest rate decision at 9:45 AM ET on Wednesday. The central bank is expected to cut rates by 25 basis points.

This article was written by Greg Michalowski at investinglive.com.

• Prior reading was +11.9
• New orders: -19.6 vs +15.4 prior
• Shipments: — vs +12.2 prior
• Unfilled orders: -6.9 vs -5.5 prior
• Delivery times: 0.0 vs +17.4 prior
• Inventories: -4.9 vs -6.4 prior
• Prices paid: +46.1 vs +54.1 prior
• Prices received: +21.6 vs +22.9 prior
• Employment: -1.2 vs +4.4 prior
• Average employee workweek: -5.1 vs +0.2 prior

Six-month ahead expectations:

• General business conditions: +14.8 vs +16.0 prior
• New orders: +16.6 vs +16.3 prior
• Capital expenditures: -3.9 vs -0.9 prior

This is a poor manufacturing reading and takes it right back to the post-Liberation Day range. I wouldn’t say it throws up some kind of major red flag but companies are clearly having trouble navigating the playing field.

Empire Fed is a monthly survey from the New York Fed that takes the pulse of manufacturing in the region. It’s the first read on factory activity each month and often sets the tone for sentiment in the sector. It’s not the biggest market mover on its own, but sharp swings can move the dollar and bonds, especially if they hint at shifting momentum in the US economy.

There has been some modest slackening in the US dollar following the release and that’s left it near session lows against the euro, yen, pound and commodity currencies.

This article was written by Adam Button at investinglive.com.

• The meeting will be concluding shortly.
• A deal was also reached on a “certain” company that young people in the country wanted to save (TikTok).
• Will be speaking to President Xi on Friday.
• The relationship remains a very strong one.

Trump posted this on his Truth Social account. It’s a follow up on this news earlier in the session. Again, there’s likely nothing definitive regarding tariffs but Trump is suggesting that at least they reached an agreement on TikTok.

This article was written by Giuseppe Dellamotta at investinglive.com.

Headlines:

• China says Nvidia violates antitrust law: shares down in pre-market trading
• Gold stays poised in waiting on the Fed this week
• EUR/USD threatens another breakout of the range as the US dollar stays on the backfoot
• US Bessent: Made good progress on technical details with China
• China had fundamental misunderstanding of our position on TikTok, says US official
• Kremlin says there is a pause in diplomatic negotiations to stop the fighting in Ukraine
• ECB’s Kazimir: We must not change policy due to small deviations from inflation target
• Germany August wholesale price index -0.6% vs -0.1% m/m prior
• Eurozone July trade balance €12.4 billion vs €7.0 billion prior

Markets:

• GBP leads, USD lags on the day
• European equities higher; S&P 500 futures up 0.2%
• US 10-year yields flat at 4.068%
• Gold flat at $3,644.19
• WTI crude up 0.4% to $62.81
• Bitcoin down 0.3% to $114,907

There wasn’t too much in European morning trade today as markets are mostly gearing towards the Fed policy decision later this week.

US-China trade talks are continuing in Madrid with not much progress, though a probe by Beijing in finding that Nvidia violated antitrust law is clouding the situation further. The chip giant’s shares are down around 1.6% in pre-market but US futures are holding up as a whole, with S&P 500 futures seen higher by 0.2% currently.

In FX, the dollar weakened slightly on the session with little catalysts in general. GBP/USD is up 0.4% to be back above 1.3600 while EUR/USD extended higher after a narrower range in Asia, now seen up 0.2% to 1.1758. Besides that, USD/JPY is down 0.2% to 147.35 while AUD/USD is up 0.2% to 0.6660 on the day.

All eyes are on the Fed decision on Wednesday and that’s keeping traders on edge in waiting on key communique from Powell & co. especially. A 25 bps rate cut is widely expected but today we got Societe Generale joining Standard Chartered as the only two houses calling for a 50 bps rate cut.

In other markets, gold is keeping more pensive as it continues to consolidate near record highs before the next move. The bond market is also lightly changed as traders and investors see not much conviction to start the week, keeping the anticipation on the Fed decision this week.

This article was written by Justin Low at investinglive.com.

The post Ex-Dividend 16/9/2025 first appeared on IC Markets | Official Blog.

• Chinese delegation came into talks with fundamental misunderstanding of US position on TikTok
• Many technical aspects of divestiture of TikTok assets have been worked out
• But Chinese officials have attached demands on US tariffs, technology restrictions
• US side is willing to let TikTok ban take place if framework deal cannot be reached

For now at least, both sides will have until early November to keep working on this. And no matter the “misunderstanding” or “difference in opinion” over all related matters, I doubt either side would be interested to resume back another trade/tariffs war. So, all they can do is pretend to play nice still while kicking the can down the road.

This article was written by Justin Low at investinglive.com.