Public Markets

Last updated: August 7, 2026, 2:43 PM ET

Public Markets Briefing

Equities

U.S. stocks rose after the July jobs report came in much cooler than expected, with the U.S. economy losing 23,000 jobs last month. Stocks jumped as the data was seen easing rate-hike pressures on the Federal Reserve. The Dow rose after jobs data missed forecasts, prompting traders to scale back rate-hike expectations. The S&P 500 hit a record high, rising 1.8 percent and capping a turnaround from a recent tech selloff. Strong earnings powered the Dow to another record, its 24th high of the year. A tech melt-up drove a $3.5 trillion increase in the Nasdaq 100's market capitalization in just four days. European stocks rose for a fourth consecutive week as strong earnings lifted regional benchmarks to fresh records. The Dow fell 460 points on Thursday, breaking its winning streak as AI anxiety weighed on markets. U.S. stocks finished mixed as optimism about reopening the Strait of Hormuz was offset by tech volatility. Stocks surged after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. could reach a deal with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The S&P 500 was poised for another record as AI spending momentum held. Big Tech stocks stormed back as AI fears faded and euphoria resumed. European indexes extended record highs at the open, with the Stoxx 600 up and industrial and retail stocks gaining.

Fixed Income & Rates

Treasury yields fell after a much weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs report. US Treasuries rallied as soft jobs data trimmed Fed rate-hike bets. Treasury yields also fell on hopes for an Iran deal as oil prices dropped. The bond market is signaling rising risks that investors should heed, with implications for home buyers and AI data centers. Bond traders were bracing for labor market data that could cool expectations the Fed raises rates in September. The US Treasury retained its previous guidance for future debt issuance, signaling no change in auction sizes well into 2027. The US Treasury also sparked debate about auction cutbacks to temper yields. Treasury yields ticked down after weaker-than-expected private payrolls data ahead of the BLS employment report. Treasury yields rose ahead of Friday's payrolls report as job-cut plans remained calm in July. Wellington Asset Management has reduced its exposure to US Treasuries, shifting into German bonds after the Fed meeting fueled doubts about its inflation-fighting credentials. Barclays and HSBC say concern the Fed is dragging its feet on inflation is giving investors another reason to buy inflation-protected bonds. Japan's 30-year bond sale drew firm demand, delivering calm to a market buffeted by currency turmoil.

Currencies

The dollar fell to its lowest level since May after soft US labor data reduced expectations that the Fed will raise rates. The dollar hit a seven-week low against a basket of currencies after the unexpected decline in July nonfarm payrolls. The yen surged 1% against the dollar after US jobs data, with traders watching for intervention clues. The yen jumped on the unexpectedly soft US payrolls report, fueling speculation about further intervention. Bank of America sees the yen strengthening about 6% against the dollar by year-end following coordinated currency intervention. The WSJ Dollar Index fell 0.16% to 96.01, down six of the past seven trading days. The dollar finished its best day in two weeks as oil prices advanced amid fading optimism over easing Middle East tensions. The South Korean won rose to the strongest level in almost 10 months as exporters converted dollar earnings into the local currency. US support for Japan's yen is unlikely to damage the dollar's status as the dominant reserve currency, according to Goldman Sachs.

Commodities & Energy

Oil futures moved higher as the market awaited news on a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Oil futures fell to a three-week low after Bessent said the US could be close to an agreement with Iran. Copper prices rose for a third consecutive session, ending at fresh records. Copper headed for a record close in London on signs of tighter short-term supply. Gold was on track for its biggest gain in more than six months as dip-buyers supported prices. Gold jumped the most since February on Hormuz reopening prospects and a technical breakout. U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 2.5 million barrels in the week ended July 31, against expectations of a 1.2 million barrel decline. Comex gold settled 0.09% lower at $4,242.00, with gold and silver prices snapping winning streaks. U.S. natural gas futures picked up ground following losses on the expanding inventory surplus. Oil gained as tensions in the Middle East flared while traders monitored progress toward a deal between Iran and Oman to partially restore shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's oil exports have stalled and Kharg Island idles under the US blockade, with naval interdiction halting tankers carrying Tehran's crude. Saudi crude shipments to the US dropped to zero in July, the first time that's happened for an entire month since 1985.

Jobs & the Fed

The labor market shifted into reverse as employers balked at hiring, with a spring surge rapidly fading as the summer brought higher prices and more uncertainty. The weak jobs report does not eliminate prospects of an interest rate rise, as officials focus on inflation. BlackRock's Rick Rieder said the surprise contraction in payrolls reflects a "productivity revolution" rather than economic weakness. The jobs report posed high stakes for investors as traders watched for clues to the Fed's next move. Friday's jobs report came as investors increasingly expect the Federal Reserve to begin raising rates as soon as next month. Kevin Warsh's silence is manufacturing market noise, as investors want to know how the Fed will react to changing economic data.

Market Structure & Flows

Private-equity firms are pouncing on the hot IPO market as sluggish dealmaking has made it hard to find buyers. The UK's sluggish IPO market is leaving private equity and venture capital firms with fewer exit routes. Carlyle Group is seeing a thaw in capital markets that is quickening the tempo of exits. Investor bullishness has become so extreme that it's time to start reducing exposure to risky assets, according to Bank of America strategists. Wall Street bulls are flocking to S&P 500 calls as the rally broadens. Options traders have been spending millions to guard against sharp declines in long-dated Treasuries, risking bigger volatility. Index funds that seem to invest the same way are performing very differently this year. The worst trading outage ever in Brazilian financial markets put B3's near-monopoly in focus as investors in Latin America's biggest economy faced yet another disruption. India's new auction system for setting closing stock prices had traders convinced the reform was faltering in its first week. China's latest initiative to rein in quantitative trading has reduced volatility but also sapped turnover.

Private Equity

Last updated: August 7, 2026, 2:42 PM ET

Take-Privates & Big Deals

Apollo secured a recommended cash offer for easy Jet valuing the FTSE 100 airline at approximately £5.7bn, ending a fast-moving four-week bidding contest. The deal marks a landmark European take-private and highlights the rise of 'bear hugs' in UK public market transactions. In a separate contested process, Bodycote plc confirmed receipt of two competing conditional cash offer proposals, from CVC and Veritas Capital Fund IX, in a Rule 2.4 statement issued to the London Stock Exchange on 5 August. The heat treatment and metallurgical services provider is now the subject of a £1.56bn bidding war. Meanwhile, KKR has agreed to acquire Medicover India, the Indian hospital operations of Nasdaq Stockholm-listed Medicover AB, adding a scaled multi-specialty network to its healthcare portfolio. The Clearlake co-founder Jose Feliciano is nearing a record $3.9bn MLB deal for the San Diego Padres, which would be the most expensive franchise sale in Major League Baseball history.

Fundraising & Capital Formation

TPG has nabbed the lion's share of a $17bn target for TPG X and its third healthcare fund, launched in mid-2025 as part of TPG's $94bn Capital platform. G Squared has secured $2.3bn for its seventh flagship secondaries fund, which is about twice the size of its previous vehicle and took half as long to raise. Nextalia held a first close of more than €1.1bn on Nextalia Private Equity II, pulling in commitments from over 200 investors in the five months since opening fundraising in February, pushing the Italian platform past €3.4bn. The EQT-managed Scaleup Europe Fund made its first investment, co-leading a €450m round into Finnish satellite imaging company ICEYE at a €10bn valuation, with the €5bn fund debuting with this landmark cheque. Mega-firms are largely defying fundraising and exit headwinds, according to learnings from the latest earnings season.

Secondaries & Liquidity

Singapore's GIC is preparing to offload around $1bn worth of private equity fund stakes on the secondary market, according to sources cited by Bloomberg, as sovereign wealth funds keep tapping the market. BlackRock TCP Capital has agreed to sell a $523m slab of its private credit portfolio to funds and accounts managed by Pantheon, with the new vehicle housing over $500m of debt positions and pricing coming in at 95% of gross fair value as of 31 December 2025. Market volatility only tells part of the story of the GP-led market's domination in the first six months of the year, with fundraising and expansion into new asset classes also driving growth. Carlyle increasingly views AlpInvest as more of a corporate finance business than a standalone secondaries unit, chief executive Harvey Schwartz said on the firm's Q2 2026 earnings call, adding that cyclical tailwinds buoying secondaries will persist for the 'next several years.' The single-asset secondaries market within infrastructure is blooming, though discipline, alignment and entry valuations remain critical to ensuring buyers bag a good deal. VC investor Ryan Moore has closed on $78.5m for Revenant Ventures' debut fund, a regulatory filing shows, as venture secondaries heat up.

Healthcare & Life Sciences

Private equity firms including Accel-KKR, Bain and Knox Lane are transacting in healthcare workforce services, targeting tech-driven growth in clinical staffing. Ares Management is leading a $2.2bn direct loan to finance Med Impact Holdings' planned acquisition of Puerto Rico-based Medical Card System, according to Bloomberg. Nordic Capital has inked a radiopharmaceuticals deal involving BWXT's nuclear medicine business, with the $800m take-private advancing tech-driven clinical solutions. Tortuga Growth Partners has made an investment in Advanced eClinical Training out of its Fund I, L.P., backing clinical education technology. The Danish retirement scheme Industriens Pension favours indirect over direct investment in secondaries and has made commitments to all five infra secondaries vehicles managed by Pantheon, as it mulls adding more exposure.

Energy, Power & Infrastructure

Partners Group has agreed to acquire a majority stake in AVK Power Solutions, a Maidenhead-based provider of power systems for data centers and AI infrastructure that has delivered more than 20,000 projects and installed approximately 3.5GW of power across Europe's FLAP-D markets. LS Power is set to acquire the Brazos Valley gas-fired power plant from Constellation, satisfying a regulatory divestiture commitment tied to Constellation's 2025 acquisition of Calpine. Sunoco is set to acquire Court Square-backed oil transporter Offen Petroleum for $600m, with the target operating a fuel distribution network delivering approximately 2.5 billion gallons annually to approximately 7,000 customers. Veritas is set to acquire Greenbelt-backed Saber Power Services, a vertically integrated power infrastructure services platform that helps customers build, modernize and maintain critical electrical systems. Goldman Sachs Asset Management is teeing up data center contractor Divcon Controls for sale, with the company providing building management and electrical power monitoring systems to data centers and other mission-critical facilities. Arlington-backed TRP Infrastructure has closed five add-on deals to form a new highway plastics division called Gulf Highway Materials.

Technology & AI

WindBorne Systems has raised a $37 million Series B round to scale its weather balloons and AI forecasts, as AI makes weather prediction better. Legaltech Wordsmith has raised a $14m Series B extension from Index and FT Ventures, backing AI-powered legal document automation. Yann LeCun has joined a new VC firm with 244 LPs, bringing the famed AI researcher's expertise to venture investing. Njord Partners' Arvid Trolle says AI is now a 'key part' of operational improvements, with the special situations investor seeing 'resilience' in the value segment including the exit market. Thoma Bravo is selling Command Alkon to Francisco Partners, with Command Alkon providing software and platform technology for the heavy building materials industry. Verdane has made a majority investment in Factbird, a Danish IoT and recurring software company providing manufacturing intelligence services.

Consumer & Retail

Bain Capital is set to acquire Gong cha from TA Associates, with the tea beverage chain serving milk tea, fruit tea and other cold drinks globally. Partners Group is in talks to buy beauty business Aroma-Zone from Eurazeo, adding to its consumer portfolio. MPK Equity-backed Gorgeous Collective has acquired Clean Your Dirty Face, marking the first acquisition for the platform since its launch earlier in 2026. Axum Capital has agreed to acquire beverage brand Barcode, a Los Angeles-based plant-based and hydration drink company. Moove has raised $250M to become the backbone of the robotaxi industry, scaling up autonomous vehicle fleet management and planning to someday own, not just manage, Waymo robotaxis.

Financial Services & Asset Management

Allianz posted record operating profit for the second quarter and first half of 2026, with the standout contribution coming from its asset management arm, which saw €39bn of net inflows as PIMCO and AGI pushed third-party AuM to a record €2.16tn. Advent has agreed to acquire FNZ Bank, an independent wealth management banking and infrastructure provider in Germany offering banking, custody, transaction execution and regulatory services. Carlyle's realisations drove a strong earnings quarter, with the firm's US buyout strategy distributing capital at more than double the industry rate, chief executive Harvey Schwartz noted on the firm's latest results call. The firm's record realisations underscore the strength of the exit environment for top-tier buyout shops. Hamilton Lane's co-chief Erik Hirsch said some investors have been 'housing capital' in evergreens before redeeming to fund a Hamilton Lane SMA, suggesting evergreen hesitancy is only temporary.

Institutional Investors & Mandates

Italian pension fund ENPAV has released a request for proposal seeking private equity co-investment opportunities. MMAA looks to commit 300bn Korean won to domestic blind pool private equity and venture capital funds for 2026. Korea Post Insurance seeks to commit 60bn Korean won to domestic blind-pool venture capital funds. Boston Retirement Systems has issued a request for proposal for up to an $85m private equity mandate. Shoaib Khan, CIO and director of the New Jersey Division of Investment, says re-ups and new opportunities are being looked at on equal footing despite being spared liquidity concerns, as the pension sees opportunity in the slow exit market.

M&A & Corporate Deals

PE-backed ContextLogic is set to acquire chemicals manufacturer gChem from Eagle Tree for $850m, with gChem becoming Context Logic's second operating business following its early 2026 acquisition of US Salt. Broad Sky has grown Smith + Howard 4x before exiting to TPG, with the business proving durable as tax and audit advisory are needed in good and bad times. KKR-backed FGS has scooped up government affairs firm Rich Feuer Anderson, marking FGS's second acquisition of a bipartisan government affairs firm following the September 2025 acquisition of Tarplin, Downs & Young. Veritas is set to acquire environmental consultant Trinity Consultants from Oak Hill, which acquired the firm in 2021 from LLCP. Copley Equity-backed FMG Leading has snapped up Broadbranch Advisors, with the deal closing at the end of July. RedBird's Affinia has added Wilson Partners in a UK accounting tie-up, with Wilson advising small and medium-sized enterprises, private individuals and private equity investors across the UK. Ridgemont has acquired remediation services firm Entact from JFLCO, a national provider of environmental remediation and geotechnical construction services. Nexa Equity-backed Facility Grid has acquired autonomous commissioning company Ping Cx, introducing a new product strategy centered on three integrated offerings — FG Construct, Validate, and Sustain.

Venture & Startup Ecosystem

Active startup investors kept up the pace in July, with familiar names topping the ranks in several metrics including most prolific venture dealmakers, most active lead backers and biggest spenders. Y Combinator's growing class of second-timers includes 454 repeat founders who have gone through cohorts, signaling the return of the repeat founder. Robinhood is set to list a fund that lets any retail investor back Y Combinator startups, democratizing access to early-stage venture. A16z has expanded its scout network across Europe with 30+ venture scouts hunting for deals, according to partners. Fintech startup Moss has been crowned Europe's newest unicorn with a €30m Series C round. Oxylabs has hit a $3.6bn valuation after a decade of turning down VCs, citing 'right timing, right partner.' MagicSchool AI leads off a series featuring startup founders from non-technical backgrounds who have launched successful ventures, with the educator-founded edtech AI startup raising $63M from VCs. Lendable is chasing the superapp dream, with the company more constrained by capacity than ideas.

Music, Media & Special Situations

The music industry is seeing some of the biggest deals it has ever seen, says Reed Smith's Josh Love, with PE firms like Blackstone, TPG and EQT also active in partnering with AI businesses. AI has enormous potential to improve administration, metadata management, royalty processing and licensing efficiency in the music sector. Clearlake is partnering with OpenAI as PE firms increasingly collaborate with AI businesses across sectors. Apollo, a year after acquiring a GP, downplays manager consolidation while backing a novel first-time fund, according to Side Letter analysis. The UK has expanded its talent visa to more than 100 companies, boosting the country's ability to attract international tech talent. Pleo is facing a culture crisis amid executive exodus, unhappy staff and sale speculation, according to Sifted reporting. Europe's 50 most active equity investors in H1 2026 have been ranked by Sifted, revealing the continent's investment pulse. The 144 new funds this year reveal what they tell us about Europe's investment market, according to Sifted analysis. QMUL spinouts are looking to raise funding, with several ventures from Queen Mary University of London seeking capital. Over 127,000 workers at U.S.-based tech companies were laid off in mass job cuts in 2025, per a Crunchbase News tally, with layoffs continuing into 2026.

Sector Investment

Last updated: August 7, 2026, 2:34 PM ET

Healthcare & Life Sciences

Regal Healthcare Capital Partners closed its fourth private equity fund at $610M, coming in above target as healthcare fundraising continues to attract institutional capital despite broader market volatility. Altaris has announced it will acquire Clarivate's Life Sciences & Healthcare business, a strategic move that expands Altaris's healthcare portfolio and reshapes the sector's information services landscape for investors tracking deal flow.

Infrastructure Fundraising

ECP closed its largest fund at $8.1bn, more than 50% above target in just 18 months, with chief investment officer Tyler Reeder citing DPI's very big role in the successful fundraise and strong LP demand for energy transition assets. Agallas Equities is planning a $5bn Caribbean-focused inaugural infrastructure fund targeting major projects in the Dominican Republic and surrounding areas, with Gulf state family offices showing early interest in the region's development potential.

Leadership & Strategy

Hans-Martin Aerts has moved on after 25 years as APG's APAC infrastructure head, a month after the €639bn Dutch pension asset manager's global infrastructure head departed, signaling a leadership transition at one of Europe's largest institutional investors. Mikkel Kjaersgaard of Industriens Pension says the €37bn Danish fund's infrastructure approach, including co-investments and secondaries, remains "business as usual" despite geopolitical turbulence, underscoring the asset class's resilience in volatile markets. Transport packaging assets may not be the full package for infrastructure purists, but it's ultimately for LPs to decide whether to accept delivery as the sector's definition continues to evolve.