European equities finished mostly lower as traders in London and across the region headed for the exits, with France’s CAC 40 and Spain’s Ibex leading the declines. Italy’s FTSE MIB was essentially unchanged.

The close showed:

• German DAX: -0.27% at 26,369.65
• France CAC 40: -0.66% at 8,579.61
• UK FTSE 100: -0.28% at 10,720.31
• Spain’s Ibex: -0.73% at 20,010.30
• Italy’s FTSE MIB: +0.01% at 53,586.98

In European bond markets, benchmark 10-year yields moved higher across the board, a move that can matter for equities because borrowing costs and discount rates feed directly into valuations. Italy posted the largest increase among the major markets, with its 10-year yield rising 3.3 basis points.

• Germany: 3.222%, +1.0 bp
• France: 4.067%, +1.5 bps
• UK: 5.064%, +1.8 bps
• Spain: 3.666%, +0.8 bp
• Italy: 4.028%, +3.3 bps

In foreign exchange, the U.S. dollar was mostly lower against major currencies. The Australian dollar, Swiss franc and New Zealand dollar were among the strongest performers, though each remained well off the day’s extremes. The Japanese yen was the only major currency lower against the dollar, down 0.06% on the day.

Major currency moves included:

• EURUSD: +0.10% at 1.1581
• USDJPY: +0.06% at 159.39
• GBPUSD: +0.15% at 1.3550
• USDCHF: -0.36% at 0.8102
• USDCAD: -0.02% at 1.3871
• AUDUSD: +0.37% at 0.7107
• NZDUSD: +0.25% at 0.5904

As European trading wound down, U.S. stocks were mixed. The Dow, S&P 500 and Russell 2000 were lower, while the Nasdaq indices held modest gains. Technology shares provided some support, but not enough to lift the broader market uniformly higher. The Russell 2000 was the weakest of the major U.S. indices, while the Nasdaq 100 was the strongest.

U.S. index moves included:

• Dow: -204 points, or -0.38%, at 53,523
• S&P 500: -11 points, or -0.14%, at 7,774.90
• Nasdaq Composite: +44 points, or +0.16%, at 26,772
• Nasdaq 100: +1.05 points, or +0.35%, at 30,152
• Russell 2000: -10.36 points, or -0.34%, at 3,058.03

On the macro front, Canada’s July inflation data came in slightly hotter than expected. Headline CPI rose 3.0% year over year, versus 2.9% expected, up from 2.8% in June, while prices increased 0.5% month over month. The Bank of Canada’s preferred underlying measures also firmed, with core CPI at 2.3% year over year, median CPI at 2.0%, trim at 1.9% and common CPI at 2.7%.

Much of the pressure came from energy and transportation, led by a 25.7% year-over-year increase in gasoline prices. Travel tours and airfares also rose sharply, partly reflecting higher fuel costs and World Cup-related demand. Excluding gasoline, however, inflation was more subdued, with falling rents, accommodation costs and vehicle prices helping offset some of the pressure. The report was somewhat hotter than expected, but it was driven largely by energy-related moves, while the underlying gauges suggested a mixed picture for policymakers heading into the rest of the year.

The Empire Manufacturing Index also surprised to the upside, rising to 20.6 in August from 15.6 in July and beating the 11.0 estimate. The reading marked the strongest growth in New York manufacturing in more than four years. New orders remained solid, employment continued to expand and the six-month outlook improved. At the same time, higher prices paid, larger order backlogs, longer delivery times and weaker supply availability pointed to rising cost and supply-chain pressures despite the strong headline result.

The NAHB Housing Market Index rose to 35 in August from 34 in July, topping the 33 estimate and indicating a modest improvement in homebuilder sentiment. Current single-family sales improved to 39, while expectations for sales over the next six months held at 43 and prospective buyer traffic remained weak at 23. Even so, sentiment remains deeply depressed, with elevated mortgage rates and rising long-term Treasury yields continuing to weigh on housing demand and affordability.