Public Markets 3 Days

Last updated: August 5, 2026, 8:30 PM ET

Market Movements and Economic Trends

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 Nasdaq Composite retreated around midday after a morning rally, while the Dow industrials advanced. European stocks rose at the open, extending a raft of record highs, with the Stoxx 600 index up and industrial and retail stocks gaining. The WSJ Dollar Index fell 0.2%, down six of the past seven trading days. Treasury yields edged slightly lower ahead of Friday’s employment report from the BLS after weaker-than-expected private payrolls data. Gold futures finished higher for the day, as the latest JOLTS report showed the number of job openings little changed in June. Copper prices rose for the third consecutive trading session and ended at fresh records. Gold and silver prices also settled higher. U.S. natural gas futures edged up in rangebound trading ahead of the EIA’s weekly storage report.

Corporate Earnings and Outlooks

DBS Group Ltd. reported second-quarter profit that beat expectations, powered by a surge in wealth-led fee income, and raised its 2026 guidance. Met Life 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. Honda Motor Co. raised its profit outlook after the motorcycle business, a weak yen, and U.S. demand for hybrids lifted quarterly results to a record. Motorola Solutions lifted its outlook, now expecting full-year adjusted earnings between $17.62 and $17.72 a share on revenue of about $12.98 billion. EBay reported higher revenue of $3.13 billion and now expects gross merchandise volume to grow between 11.5% and 12.5% in 2026, following the closing of the Depop acquisition. Block raised its full-year guidance and reported higher second-quarter revenue as growth in its commerce and financial solutions businesses helped to offset declines in Bitcoin. Bloomin’ Brands raised its adjusted earnings outlook, as customers at its Outback Steakhouse chain are paying more for pricier steaks. Duolingo Inc. shares fell as much as 12% on Wednesday after the company’s conservative revenue outlook for the current quarter overshadowed user growth. Pinterest logged a second-quarter loss of $46.7 million due to higher costs, even as its sales rose 18% thanks to record monthly active users. Match Group’s second-quarter profit came in at $170.5 million, but revenue fell 1%, weighed down by sluggish results for Tinder. Zillow Group Inc. said second-quarter revenue jumped 18% from a year earlier to $772 million, as the online real estate company sees rental agreements growing more quickly than home purchases. Zillow also posted a loss of $4 million as restructuring costs of $36 million weighed on the bottom line despite higher revenue. Goodyear posted a loss of $204 million, or 71 cents a share, compared with a profit of $254 million, or 87 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter, due to lower tire volume and higher costs. DoorDash’s profit fell due to higher costs of revenue from more orders, as well as increases in sales, marketing, and research and development expenses and other overhead costs. News Corp’s revenue climbed 11% to $762.5 million in the second quarter, with growth across all segments.

Technology and AI Sector Developments

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 telecommunications. Asian stocks were poised to ease Thursday as investors digested gains in technology shares while watching for fresh signs of progress toward a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. A dramatic turnaround in technology stocks has powered a $3.5 trillion increase in the Nasdaq 100’s market capitalization in just four days, driven by strong earnings that have emboldened investors. The semiconductor index fell into a bear market despite “unprecedented” profit increases. 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. San Disk revenue soared on AI data storage demand, with the company posting a higher net income of $6.9 billion as the artificial-intelligence buildout continued to fuel demand for data storage. Caterpillar said the artificial intelligence boom continues to drive demand for its engines and generators, while healthy construction spending is spurring sales of its dump trucks, bulldozers, and excavators. Siemens Energy saw record high orders in its fiscal third quarter, driven by demand for U.S. data centers and surging global demand for electricity. SpaceX reported higher-than-expected AI-related outlays, which overshadowed other factors in a mixed market.

Financial Services and Investment News

Fitch Ratings said it’s upgrading 30 portions of collateralized loan obligations, in addition to the hundreds of tranches it had said previously it was considering for upgrades under a new methodology. 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. Ares Management Corp. is leading a $2.2 billion direct loan to help finance a healthcare services acquisition, in one of the biggest deals since the private credit market was roiled by record redemptions. HSBC Holdings posted sharply higher quarterly profit, with pretax profit increasing across the bank’s four key segments, rising especially sharply in the business of supporting affluent clients with their finances, and plans a $1 billion share buyback. A former executive alleged JPMorgan improperly denied reimbursements of more than $100 million to customers who were victims of financial scams. UBS was fined $125 million over lax money laundering controls, as the Swiss bank failed to implement adequate curbs despite previous sanctions by U.S. regulators. 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. BC Partners’ credit arm is leading a group of investors looking at lending money to LIV Golf.

Global Trade and Geopolitical Factors

Oil declined in early Asian trade amid growing optimism over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Asian stocks were poised to ease Thursday as investors digested gains in technology shares while watching for fresh signs of progress toward a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Iran says it has reached an agreement with Oman on the Hormuz shipping route, and the Islamic republic is determined to retain a degree of control over the chokepoint. Saudi Aramco said attacks last month didn’t have a material impact on its operations, and the company is working to expand its oil export capacity as the Iran war disrupts flows through the Strait of Hormuz. Mosaic Co.’s pullbacks in fertilizer production haven’t been enough to alleviate the impact of surging input costs from the war in Iran. The U.S. suspended government activities in the Mexican state of Michoacán, affecting imports of avocados from the largest producing region in the country to the U.S. Colombian authorities intercepted a bus rigged with explosives in the country’s southwest on Wednesday, underscoring security concerns ahead of President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella’s inauguration.

Political and Social Developments

Dr. Fauci invoked his Constitutional right under the Fifth Amendment in refusing to answer questions from a Senate committee, with Republicans saying he is ineligible for that protection. 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. Mayor Zohran Mamdani of New York said that Dr. Abdul El-Sayed’s close victory in the Michigan Senate primary put “working-class Americans back at the heart of our politics.” Abdul El-Sayed’s Senate candidacy poses a critical challenge for Democrats’ ascendant progressive wing: Can an insurgent candidate, with unabashedly liberal positions, win a general election in a moderate state. Michigan’s Seventh Congressional District, moderate Democrats worry that by being unable to unite behind a single candidate, they have complicated their chances in a key November battleground. The federal government is ending its contract with a Kentucky nonprofit that it says pressured medical workers to remove organs from patients who were getting better. The death of a Salvadoran immigrant at the federal detention center in Newark has raised questions about the conditions there. The C.I.A. has set up a secret Cuba task force to quickly direct more financial, human, and technical resources at the island, with the goal of creating fissures among the Cuban political elite. 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 area. A White House official says no final decision has been made about which plane will go on display at the Trump presidential library, leaving the fate of the Qatari jet unclear. Trump’s goal of building a “golden fleet” of 15 battleships could cost $275 billion, according to a government estimate. The Park Service found that Trump’s arch could detract from dozens of historic places, as the 250-foot-tall edifice would alter views across Washington and Arlington Cemetery. African tech hubs, developers are picking China’s cheap, freely available artificial intelligence models over more powerful U.S. ones.

Labor and Employment

Etsy is cutting 12% of its workforce as Chief Executive Kruti Goyal focuses on the core marketplace, stating the cuts weren’t driven by cost-cutting initiatives or artificial intelligence. AppLovin said profit and revenue growth continued in the latest quarter, but the advertising company stated the results weren’t quite up to par with its standards.