A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from
Stella Qiu
From economic data to corporate earnings, the anticipated
impact of President Donald Trump's tariffs is finally showing up
for all to see, but stock investors don't seem too concerned.
Data showed the U.S. service sector hit stalling speed in
July as employment further weakened and input costs climbed by
the most in nearly three years. Combined with a brutal jobs
report on Friday, that rekindled stagflation fears and put the
Federal Reserve in a tough spot.
U.S. earnings results, though they have been generally
upbeat in the second quarter, are starting to show clearer
tariff impact. Caterpillar ( CAT ) warned that U.S. tariffs
would cost it up to $1.5 billion this year and Taco Bell parent
Yum Brands ( YUM ) cautioned against higher costs and muted
consumer demand.
Even AI chip stock Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ) reported
disappointing data center revenue, sending its shares down 6.6%
after the bell.
That is one reason that equity markets have turned cautious,
with investors caught in the tug of war between still robust
earnings and tariffs. Judging by the impressive bounce in shares
following U.S. jobs figures, it seems buying the dip still wins
for now.
The other big news of the day is ChatGPT maker OpenAI, which
is in early talks for a potential secondary stock sale, valuing
the company at around $500 billion, Reuters reported.
In Asia, most shares were in the red but Japan and Australia
outperformed with a gain of about 0.6%. Wall Street futures
recovered from an earlier dip, with the Nasdaq futures up
0.1% and S&P 500 futures rising 0.2%.
European stock futures are bracing for a higher open, with
EUROSTOXX 50 futures up 0.3%.
Currencies have moved little, with the dollar struggling to
recover from the jobs-induced slump on Friday. All eyes are on
Trump's pick to fill a coming vacancy on the Federal Reserve's
Board of Governors.
Trump said the decision will be made by the end of the week,
while ruling out Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as a contender
to replace the current chief Jerome Powell, whose term ends in
May 2026.
The Treasury market braced for a $42 billion auction of
10-year notes after a three-year auction went poorly on Tuesday.
Key developments that could influence markets on Wednesday:
-- Euro zone retail sales for June
-- U.S. 10-year Treasury bond auction
-- Earnings results from Disney, Uber, McDonald's
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(Editing by Jacqueline Wong)