📰 What’s moving Markets?

Stocks:

• Asian shares were mixed, with mainland China dragged down by healthcare stocks amid concerns of an anti-graft crackdown. US futures showed signs of a positive trend while European contracts are mostly flat.

• Wall Street stocks experienced their longest daily losing streak in three months, largely influenced by weaker-than-expected US job growth and tech "megacap" earnings. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 fell c. 0.50% on Friday.

• Corporate earnings season is wrapping up; approximately 79% of S&P 500 companies have surpassed forecasts.

Bonds:

• The yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell 0.16 percentage points to 4.04%, a drop that came after a nine-month high.

• The Bank of England (BOE) is under pressure to delay the adoption of global banking capital rules by six months to mid-2025, aligning with the US implementation date.

FX:

• The US dollar index has fallen 0.50% as US Treasury yields have eased.

Commodities:

• Ukraine's drone attacks on Russian shipping could put Russia's commodity exports at risk, potentially leading to higher insurance and shipping costs. This situation presents added risks to global energy and agricultural markets. Wheat futures in Chicago climbed over 2%.

• Oil prices increased after Saudi Arabia extended its production cut of 1 million barrels of oil a day for at least another month. International benchmark Brent crude settled 1.3% higher at $86.24 a barrel.

• The recent 17% increase in Brent, along with upward pressure on food prices due to the war in Ukraine and global warming, poses a threat to hopes for continued disinflation across the developed world.

📊 Chart of the Day

Brazilian equities are becoming more popular to foreign investors, bolstered by the commodity super-cycle which benefits Brazil as a natural resource rich nation.

Net Foreign Capital inflow/outflow (Brazilian Real, Millions)

🤿 Deep Dive

It feels like fusion energy is always 3 years away. On that note, scientists have been able to replicate net energy gain from a fusion reaction, for the second time, as reported by the Financial Times.

If you’re pressed for time, here’s the TL;DR:

• The US Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory achieved a second net energy gain in fusion, bolstering optimism for this energy source.

• Fusion promises zero-carbon power with minimal radioactive waste. A small hydrogen fuel cup could potentially power a home for hundreds of years.

• Current fusion outputs from experiments are encouraging, but commercial viability requires significantly more energy generation.

• Rapid progress in eight months suggests acceleration in fusion research. Consistent achievements in fusion may drive future investments in the technology, reshaping energy markets and reducing dependency on fossil fuels.

📆 Coming up this Week

Monday 7th August

• Germany Industrial Production MoM consensus: -0.4%, last: -0.2%

• China Trade Balance consensus: 625.25M, last: 491.25M

Company Earnings: Paramount, Palantir, Lucid, KKR

Tuesday 8th August

• Germany Headline CPI YoY consensus: 6.2%, last: 6.2%

• France Trade Balance consensus: -8.0B, last: -8.4B

• United States Trade Balance consensus: -65.70B, last: -69.00B

• China Headline CPI YoY consensus: -0.5%, last: 0.0%

• China PPI YoY consensus: -4.0%, last: -5.4%

Company Earnings: UPS, AMC, Lyft, Fox, Coupang, Twilio

Wednesday 9th August

• Japan PPI YoY consensus: 3.5%, last: 4.1%

Company Earnings: Roblox, Disney, Sony

Thursday 10th August

• United States Initial Jobless Claims consensus: 231K, last: 227K

• United States Headline CPI YoY consensus: 3.3%, last: 3.0%

• United States Core CPI YoY consensus: 4.7%, last: 4.8%

Company Earnings: Alibaba

Friday 11th August

• United Kingdom GDP QoQ consensus: 0.0%, last: 0.1%

• United Kingdom GDP YoY consensus: 0.2%, last: 0.2%

• United Kingdom Industrial Production YoY consensus: -2.1%, last: -2.3%

• United Kingdom Manufacturing Production consensus: -1.0%, last: -1.2%

• France Headline CPI YoY consensus: 4.3%, last: 4.5%

• United States Core PPI YoY consensus: 2.3%, last: 2.4%

• United States PPI YoY consensus: 0.7%, last: 0.1%