(Cutoff at European market closing) Iran's oil minister Bijan Zanganeh confirmed he would attend the gathering on the sideline of a conference of OPEC minister in Algeria in late September. In Germany, the Ifo business climate index fell to 106.2 points in August, from 108.3 in July. Sterling dropped against the dollar to $1.3173. The dollar edged up against the yen to ¥100.57 and the euro firmed to $1.1272. The yield on the 10-year Treasury was up 1 basis point at 1.57 per cent while the two-year US yield was 1bp higher at 0.78 per cent. The 10-year German Bund yield rose 2bp to minus 0.07 per cent. Brent crude edged higher to $49.48 a barrel after falling as low as $48.70 a barrel. The US WTI increased to $47.93 a barrel following a drop to $46.42. Gold was down at $1,322 an ounce.
Weekly initial jobless claims Aug 20 261,000
Durable goods orders Jul 4.4%
Durable goods orders ex-transportation Jul 1.5%
S&P500 2172.47
SSE 3068.33
HSI 22814.95
