ORLANDO, Florida, Aug 3 (Reuters) - World stocks leaped to
record highs on Tuesday, boosted by a relentless stream of
strong U.S. and global earnings, with another slump in oil
prices on Middle East peace hopes pushing down on bond yields
and boosting investor sentiment also.
In my column today, I dig deeper into America's unprecedented
currency market intervention last week. Washington's commitment
to help Japan prop up the yen should not be doubted, but there
is a fair degree of self-interest at play too, especially
regarding the $29 trillion U.S. Treasury market.
If you have more time to read, here are a few articles I
recommend to help you make sense of what happened in markets
today.
1. Bessent's call to upsize Fed foreign lending facility may
not be risk-free
2. Japan may not have intervened in FX market on Monday
despite yen's surge, BOJ data suggests
3. US economy is overstimulated - and bond markets fear it:
Mike Dolan
4. EXCLUSIVE-Trump administration drafting ban on Chinese
data center devices, sources say
5. EXCLUSIVE-Shein targets $30 billion to $40 billion Hong
Kong IPO valuation this month, sources say
Today's Key Market Moves
* STOCKS: MSCI All Country, MSCI EM, and benchmark indices
in UK, Europe, and U.S. all hit record highs.
* SECTORS/SHARES: Six sectors on the S&P 500 rise, five
fall. Tech +4%, energy -0.5%. Palantir +30%. Sandisk, Intel,
Super Micro Computer +11%. SpaceX, AMD both -10% after the bell.
* FX: Dollar/yen rebounds, nudges 158. BRL -1%, CLP +1.5%
* BONDS: 10y Japan yield spikes to 2.87% after poor auction.
U.S. yields down 4-7 bps, curve bull flattens
* COMMODITIES/METALS: Oil -5.5%. Platinum, palladium +7%.
Today's Talking Points:
Dollar drift?
The U.S.'s historic intervention in the yen last week may mark
an inflection point for the dollar, not just against Japan's
flailing currency, but more broadly. If dollar/yen has topped
out, and the threat of more intervention forces traders to cover
their massive short yen position, the spillover to other
dollar/Asia crosses is not difficult to imagine.
Does this ease some of the 'beggar thy neighbor' approach to
FX policy across Asia? Again, it's a plausible scenario,
especially if peace breaks out in the Middle East and the slump
in oil prices continues to pull Treasury yields down from their
recent highs. A lot of "ifs and buts" in there, but there is a
case building that the dollar's 2026 race might be run.
Reaction (mall)function
A 20% slump in oil prices over the last 10 days has taken
the heat off the Treasury market, at least at the short end, and
by extension, the Fed. But debate continues to swirl around what
the Kevin Warsh Fed's reaction function will be. Warsh refuses
to tell us what his is, so investors are taking their cue from
others.
The three FOMC dissenters explained their decisions on
Friday, and New York and Philadelphia Fed Presidents John
Williams and Anna Paulson have outlined their thinking this
week. Is the center of gravity at the FOMC starting to shift?
The 9-3 vote to leave rates unchanged last week wasn't
necessarily a "dovish hold", and it is likely to be quite
different in September. Rate futures only pointing to one
fully-priced hike this year. Too timid?
Block rockin' BEATS
Investors by now know just how strong U.S. earnings growth
is, but some of the numbers bear repeating. According to SocGen
earlier on Tuesday, six out of 10 firms have reported, 70% of
market cap, and only 9% have missed estimates, the lowest
reading ever, while 86% of firms have beaten estimates. Both S&P
500 and ex-tech margins have hit record highs. Q2 y/y earnings
growth will be over 30%, according to UBS, and even approaching
50%, according to LSEG estimates.
Either way, it's a bullish backdrop. Is it all priced in
though? High market leverage and real yields are headwinds, but
a reversal would require aggressive Fed tightening and yield
curve inversion, says SocGen. So no reason why 8000 on the S&P
500 cannot be reached, right?
What could move markets tomorrow?
* India interest rate decision
* Brazil interest rate decision
* U.S. services ISM index (July)
* U.S. Federal Reserve officials scheduled to speak -
Governor Lisa Cook, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly
* U.S. earnings, including Eli Lilly, Sandisk, Western
Digital, Disney, Uber
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