SLOVENIA
Jobless total down 1.4% on monthly level in August, but up 23.2% y/y
The registered jobless total in Slovenia stood at 88,172 at the end of August, which is a 1.4% decrease on July but 23.2% above the August 2019 figure due to unemployment growth in April and May, show the latest Employment Service data. (STA)
INTERNATIONAL MARKETS
Dow surges 400 points as early September rally continues, S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit records; Europe stocks close higher after strong Wall Street session; BELEX15 flat
Stocks rose on Wednesday, continuing a strong start to September for the market as traders took profits out of high-flying names like Apple and Tesla and snapped up shares in more beaten-down parts of the market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 357 points, or 1.2%. The S&P 500 gained 1.2% while the Nasdaq Composite was higher by 0.7%. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit record highs, with the Nasdaq topping 12,000 for the first time.
In economic news, ADP said U.S. private payrolls grew by 428,000 in August. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected a gain of 1.17 million.
European stocks closed higher on Wednesday on the back of a strong session on Wall Street, despite troubling economic indicators in the region. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index ended up 1.6%, with almost all sectors and major bourses firmly in positive territory.
In corporate news, Unilever said on Wednesday it would spend 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) to eliminate fossil fuels from its cleaning products by 2030. Shares of the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant closed up over 2.5% on the news.
BELEX15 ended its daily session with no material change as major names were also flat. NIS was absolutely dominant as it generated almost the entire daily turnover for the market – RSD 5.9m. Philip Morris (DINNPB) was up 7.5% but this was on very low volume.
Retail trade turnover in Serbia increased by 4.7% y-o-y in July, pointing to a full recovery of this economic branch. As regards tourism, the total number of overnight stays in July was by 35.9% lower y-o-y, but domestic tourism almost fully rebounded. Namely, the number of overnight stays of domestic tourists was only 3.2% lower than in July last year. Goods exports and imports in euro terms declined in July by 4.3% and 8.8% y-o-y, respectively. (CNBC, ILIRIKA)
