European shares finished mixed for a second consecutive session, with Germany's DAX and Italy's FTSE MIB leading the advance while France's CAC and Spain's Ibex declined.

• German DAX: +0.68% at 26,285.05
• France's CAC: -0.16% at 8,439.20
• UK's FTSE 100: +0.29% at 10,886.17
• Spain's Ibex: -0.21% at 20,056.59
• Italy's FTSE MIB: +0.34% at 52,720.30

The broader tone across European markets was supported by falling oil prices, lower bond yields and a rebound in technology shares ahead of Nvidia's earnings release after the close on Wednesday. Nvidia's report is among the most closely watched events of the earnings season: as the dominant supplier of AI chips, its results and outlook are widely read as a gauge of data-center AI demand, and its reports have often set the tone for chip stocks worldwide. Guidance and demand commentary will draw as much attention as the headline numbers when results land. Investors also judged the latest U.S. sanctions against Iran to be less severe than feared, which helped ease immediate concerns about further disruptions to global energy supplies.

Bonds

European 10-year benchmark yields moved sharply lower:

• Germany: 3.201%, down 5.5 basis points
• France: 4.052%, down 7.3 basis points
• UK: 4.989%, down 6.9 basis points
• Spain: 3.653%, down 5.5 basis points
• Italy: 4.016%, down 6.0 basis points

The fall left France's 10-year yield roughly 85 basis points above Germany's, keeping the French-German spread near the elevated levels of recent years.

In the U.S., Treasury yields are also lower across the curve. The 2-year yield is down 3.4 basis points at 4.202%, while the 10-year yield is down 5.6 basis points at 4.649% and the 30-year yield is down 5.5 basis points at 5.177%. Falling oil prices and softer consumer-confidence data have helped ease some of the recent inflation and bond-market concerns.

U.S. equities

Wall Street's major indices are trading higher, led by the technology-heavy Nasdaq, as chip and AI shares rebound ahead of Nvidia's earnings:

• Dow industrial average: +0.14%
• S&P index: +0.38%
• Nasdaq composite: +0.75%

U.S. economic data

U.S. consumer confidence slipped to 89.4 in August from a revised 90.2 in July. The present-situation index improved to 121.2, but the expectations component fell to 68.2 from 74.0, highlighting growing concern about future business and labor-market conditions. Expectations readings below 80 have historically been watched as a warning signal for the economic outlook.

New-home sales were also weaker than expected, falling 10.5% in July to an annualized pace of 607,000. The prior month, however, was revised sharply higher to 678,000 from 628,000. Inventory rose to 488,000 homes, representing a relatively high 9.6-month supply at the current sales pace. The median sales price fell 2.3% from June and 0.9% from a year earlier to $393,800. The series is among the most volatile of the monthly economic reports and prone to large revisions.

Earlier housing data were more constructive. The Case-Shiller 20-city home-price index rose 2.1% from a year ago, above the 1.7% estimate, while FHFA prices were unchanged on the month and up 2.3% year over year. Case-Shiller's index is a three-month rolling average published with a lag, so the firmer annual readings reflect price conditions from earlier in the year rather than the most recent softness in sales.

Fed commentary

Boston Fed President Susan Collins maintained a more hawkish tone, saying inflation remains too high and that concerns about elevated prices are pervasive. Although she sees continued disinflation as the most likely outcome, Collins said it could be appropriate to raise rates "soon" without evidence of sustained progress on inflation. Her hawkish tone contrasts with the day's fall in Treasury yields, which came alongside softer consumer and housing data — a reminder that official messaging and market pricing do not always move together.

Currencies

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading lower against most major currencies. The dollar is weaker versus the EUR, GBP, CHF, CAD, AUD and NZD, while it is marginally stronger against the JPY. The NZD and AUD are the strongest of the major currencies, although the changes remain modest.

Commodities and crypto

WTI crude oil is down $2.94, or 3.46%, at $82.05. Gold is little changed near $4,650, silver is down 0.36% at $68.69, and bitcoin is up 0.44% at $79,334.