Public Markets 24 Hours

Last updated: August 5, 2026, 11:31 PM ET

Asian Markets and Corporate Earnings

Asian stocks are poised to ease Thursday as investors digest gains in technology shares while watching for fresh signs of progress toward a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Japanese stocks were lower in early trade following Wednesday’s sharp gains led by artificial intelligence-related shares. JGBs rose in early Tokyo trade, tracking overnight price gains in U.S. Treasurys. Chip giant SK Hynix Inc. suffered its second short-lived share plunge in about a week, raising fresh questions about trading volatility on South Korea’s alternative stock exchange. China’s rapid progress in low-cost artificial intelligence is strengthening the investment case for the country’s internet giants after years in the shadow of chipmakers, market participants say. In African tech hubs, developers are picking China’s cheap, freely available artificial intelligence models over more powerful U.S. ones.

US Markets and Economic Indicators

U.S. stocks finished mixed as optimism about the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz was offset by more volatility in artificial-intelligence wagers. The Dow industrials advanced, notching their 24th record high of the year, while the Nasdaq slipped. Treasury yields edged slightly lower ahead of Friday’s employment report from the BLS after weaker-than-expected private payrolls data. The WSJ Dollar Index fell 0.2%, down six of the past seven trading days. Traders in India are dialing back October rate-hike bets after dovish Reserve Bank of India (RBI) speak, with the earliest anticipated rate hike now in December. The Federal Reserve might be pressured into easing monetary conditions due to the way current trades are being conducted.

Company Performance and Outlooks

DBS Group Holdings Ltd. delivered better-than-expected second-quarter profit that was powered by a surge in wealth-led fee income, and raised its 2026 guidance. MetLife Inc.’s second-quarter earnings surpassed Wall Street’s expectations, boosted by strong underwriting, volume growth, and the success of a five-year plan outlined in late 2024. Motorola Solutions Inc. lifted its outlook, now expecting full-year adjusted earnings between $17.62 and $17.72 a share on revenue of about $12.98 billion. Thomson Reuters bumped up its revenue targets for the year after logging double-digit growth across its three big business segments in the latest quarter. EBay reported higher revenue of $3.13 billion, and now expects gross merchandise volume to grow between 11.5% and 12.5% in 2026, as its Depop acquisition closes. Shopify quieted fears of a midyear slowdown, forecasting accelerating third-quarter sales growth as artificial intelligence-driven search and broad merchant expansion fuel market-share gains.

Technology and AI Sector Moves

SpaceX shares slumped even as the group said its quarterly revenues nearly doubled, with investors unnerved by lavish AI spending plans. The technology trade may be poised to become even more dependent on retail investors and more volatile after a rough July, according to an assessment of preliminary data on technology, media and telecom. Celestica Inc. is looking to raise $3 billion from selling new shares, joining a flurry of companies raising funds for data centers to power the artificial intelligence buildout. Western Digital reported a more than elevenfold increase in its fourth-quarter profit, driven by continued strong demand for its memory technology. Sandisk revenue soared on AI data storage demand, with the company posting higher net income of $6.9 billion as the artificial-intelligence buildout continued to fuel demand for data storage. Duolingo Inc. shares fell as much as 12% on Wednesday after the company’s conservative revenue outlook for the current quarter overshadowed user growth.

Energy and Commodities

U.S. crude oil stockpiles were up by 2.5 million barrels in the week ended July 31, contrary to expectations of a 1.2 million barrel fall. U.S. natural gas futures edged up in rangebound trading ahead of the EIA’s weekly storage report. Fuel-makers enjoying skyrocketing profits will likely keep reaping standout margins through the next quarter and beyond, according to an executive from a top US refiner. The US shipped a record amount of distillate fuel overseas last week as domestic stockpiles fell again, the latest sign that the global scramble for diesel is increasingly draining US supplies. Ghana’s central bank incurred losses of 22 billion cedis ($1.9 in 2025 under a domestic gold purchase program aimed at boosting the country’s foreign-exchange reserves. Copper prices rose for the third consecutive trading session and ended at fresh records.

Mergers, Acquisitions, and Deals

Cia. Siderúrgica Nacional is seeking at least 15 billion reais ($2.9 for its cement business and expects to receive four bids as it moves to sell the entire unit. BC Partners’ credit arm is leading a group of investors looking at lending money to LIV Golf, according to people familiar with the matter. Two private credit funds managed by Blue Owl Capital Inc. bought back a combined $90 million of shares, marking a consecutive quarter of repurchases as the asset manager sought to steady the vehicles. Bending Spoons is buying Airtable for a fraction of its last private valuation, a move described as a "kick in the gut" for software unicorns and their backers. A bondholder group is set to take over Pfleiderer, the struggling wood-paneling company backed by Strategic Value Partners, despite the firm raising fresh debt just eight months ago. Partners Group is nearing a €2 billion deal for beauty group Aroma-Zone, with French asset manager Eurazeo in talks to sell its stake.

Regulatory and Legal Developments

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Moderna’s mRNA flu vaccine after initially refusing to review the application but reversing course after a public outcry. The agency had initially refused to even review the application but reversed course after a public outcry. A former executive alleged JPMorgan improperly denied reimbursements of more than $100 million to customers who were victims of financial scams, leading prosecutors to probe whistleblower claims. Federal agents are using flight manifests to arrest travelers with lapsed visas, drawing objections from airlines over safety and protocol. The federal government is ending its contract with a Kentucky nonprofit after reports of abuses, saying the organization pressured medical workers to remove organs from patients who were getting better. Finland, wary of misinformation from Moscow and beyond, has a leg up on other nations in spotting fake news.

Political and Geopolitical Events

Marine One the helicopter that ferries the president, came within less than a mile of an Envoy Air flight on Tuesday, raising new concerns about air traffic control in the congested Washington airspace. The pro-Israel organization AIPAC spent $32 million in an unsuccessful effort to defeat Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary and might try again in the general election. The CIA has set up a secret Cuba task force that will allow the spy agency to quickly direct more financial, human and technical resources at the island, with the goal of creating fissures among the Cuban political elite. President Trump’s criticisms of Big Oil echo the strategy used by his predecessor regarding high gas prices. The Trump administration’s new safety review guidelines for artificial intelligence appear to exempt Chinese AI models, while OpenAI’s and Anthropic’s are not. Israel has ramped up attacks on the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, potentially undermining President Trump's peace plan for the region.

Other Notable Developments

The U.S. suspended government activities in the Mexican state of Michoacan, affecting imports of avocados from the largest producing region in the country to the U.S. The New York Times’ total revenue climbed 11% to $762.5 million in the second quarter, though its stock plunged 13% as subscriber growth slowed. A Senate panel scheduled a vote on contempt of Congress charges for Dr. Anthony Fauci after he declined to answer questions at a hearing last week. Jason Arday was hired by the University of Cambridge in 2023 as the youngest Black professor in its history, but doubt has since been cast on his academic qualifications and claims about his life. The death of a Salvadoran immigrant at the federal detention center in Newark has raised questions about the conditions there. In 32 of the countries included in a recent study, at least a quarter of the native butterfly species had moved to new areas.