Wednesday Afternoon Coffee - Markets Update - 3 Sep 2025 - Wall Street Mixed as Jobs Data Disappoints, Global Bond Rout Sparks Safe-Haven Rush

The Trade Academy Team
Sep 3
2 min read

Markets Update: U.S. stocks ended Wednesday on a mixed note as a rally in technology shares, led by Alphabet, offset disappointing labor market data and a global selloff in long-dated government bonds. Gold surged past $3,500 as investors scrambled for safety, while oil prices tumbled more than 2%.

Global Markets Roundup: 3 Sep 2025

Equities Hold Ground Despite Jobs Weakness

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.5%, while the S&P 500 edged up 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.54%. Alphabet soared 8% after winning a favorable antitrust ruling that preserves lucrative payments to Apple, lifting tech sentiment. Apple rose about 3%.

Still, weaker labor market figures capped broader gains. The Labor Department’s JOLTS report showed job openings fell by 176,000 to 7.181 million in July, missing expectations of 7.378 million. The soft data added uncertainty to the Federal Reserve’s upcoming interest-rate decision.

Bond Rout Extends Across Continents

A sharp global selloff in long-dated debt rattled investors, sending Japan’s 30-year yield to a record 3.28% and Britain’s gilt yields to post-1998 highs before easing to 5.6%. Germany’s 30-year yield held at 3.36%, near its highest in 14 years.

U.S. Treasuries mirrored the volatility: the 30-year yield briefly topped 5% in Asian trading before settling at 4.9%. The spread between 2- and 30-year Treasuries widened to about 129 basis points, its highest since late 2021.

Gold Hits Record as Dollar Slides

Safe-haven demand drove spot gold to a record $3,577 before closing slightly lower. The U.S. dollar DXY weakened broadly, with the dollar index down 0.3%. Sterling dipped to a four-week low of $1.343 before recovering, while the yen USDJPY traded near 148 per dollar after a sharp drop earlier in the week.

Global Equities Diverge

European markets brushed off bond turmoil, with the STOXX index gaining 0.66% as traders looked ahead to a possible Fed rate cut. In contrast, Japan’s Topix fell 1.1% and MSCI’s Asia-Pacific ex-Japan index lost 0.4%.

Tariff Risks Resurface

Trade tensions remained in focus as President Donald Trump vowed to seek a Supreme Court ruling to reinstate tariffs deemed illegal by an appeals court. The tariffs will stay in place until October 14. The uncertainty added pressure to manufacturing, which contracted for a sixth straight month in August.

Commodities Under Pressure

Crude prices extended losses as demand fears weighed on sentiment:

WTI Crude: -2.5% to $63.97/barrel
Brent Crude: -2.2% to $67.60/barrel

Agricultural markets also weakened:

Soybeans (Nov): -9½¢ to $10.31½/bushel
Corn (Dec): -5¢ to $4.18/bushel
Wheat (Dec): -6¼¢ to $5.22/bushel

Outlook

Markets remain caught between weaker U.S. economic signals and a mounting global bond crisis that is reshaping capital flows. With gold at record highs and Treasuries under strain, investors are bracing for heightened volatility as the Fed’s September meeting approaches.

Looking forward refer to the economic calendar below to see the upcoming events scheduled for today and the rest of the week.

General news - Information source from multiple newswires.

The article and the data is for general information use only, not advice!

The Trade Academy Team