Key takeaways
- U.S. equity indices are trading slightly lower after mixed trading session in Europe, while oil has climbed back above $82 per barrel.
- Iran is set to negotiate with Oman over the situation in the Strait of Hormuz and the details of its future oversight.
- Sharp declines in SanDisk and Western Digital shares have not triggered a broader sell-off on the Nasdaq, with the impact on the semiconductor sector remaining limited.
- U.S. macroeconomic data surprised to the upside, with initial jobless claims remaining below 200,000 and second-quarter productivity rising 1.4% year-over-year versus expectations of 0.6%.
- Eurozone retail sales missed expectations in both monthly terms (-0.3% vs. +0.1% expected, after +0.2% previously) and annual terms (+0.7% vs. +1.0% expected, after +1.6% previously).
Key takeaways
- U.S. equity indices are trading slightly lower after mixed trading session in Europe, while oil has climbed back above $82 per barrel.
- Iran is set to negotiate with Oman over the situation in the Strait of Hormuz and the details of its future oversight.
- Sharp declines in SanDisk and Western Digital shares have not triggered a broader sell-off on the Nasdaq, with the impact on the semiconductor sector remaining limited.
- U.S. macroeconomic data surprised to the upside, with initial jobless claims remaining below 200,000 and second-quarter productivity rising 1.4% year-over-year versus expectations of 0.6%.
- Eurozone retail sales missed expectations in both monthly terms (-0.3% vs. +0.1% expected, after +0.2% previously) and annual terms (+0.7% vs. +1.0% expected, after +1.6% previously).
European equity markets delivered a mixed performance on Thursday. Germany's DAX finished the session little changed, France's CAC 40 gained 0.3%, while the UK's FTSE 100 posted modest gains. Poland's WIG20 was the standout performer, climbing nearly 0.9% to close above the psychologically important 4,000-point mark for the first time in its history. Meanwhile, U.S. equities traded slightly lower, with the Nasdaq 100 down 0.15% and the S&P 500 losing more than 0.3% around five hours into Thursday's session.
- The session across European equity markets was mixed. Germany's DAX closed flat, France's CAC 40 gained 0.3%, while the UK's FTSE 100 edged slightly higher. The strongest benchmark was Poland's WIG20, which advanced nearly 0.9% to surpass the historic round-number milestone of 4,000 points. In the US, the Nasdaq 100 was down 0.15% and the S&P 500 had fallen more than 0.3% around five hours after Thursday's market open.
- Corporate earnings supported sentiment across continental Europe, although London's market was weighed down by stocks trading ex-dividend, while broader risk appetite remained constrained by geopolitical uncertainty and renewed gains in oil prices. Among the top performers, Deutsche Telekom climbed around 6.3% after expanding its share buyback programme to €5 billion and raising its free cash flow guidance. Renk added 5.5% following record order intake. Siemens declined roughly 4.5% after weaker-than-expected order growth in its Digital Industries division, while Rheinmetall fell around 3.5% after lowering its 2026 sales guidance.
- In Asia, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.57% to 3,900.35, while South Korea's KOSPI plunged 4.58% to 6,296.38 and Japan's Nikkei 225 lost 0.93% to 65,683.26. Concerns over AI investment returns and reactions to earnings from US memory chip manufacturers triggered heavy selling in SK Hynix, Samsung, Kioxia and Tokyo Electron.
- SanDisk fell around 5% despite reporting fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $8.97 billion and adjusted EPS of $39.25, as its revenue guidance of $10.3-10.8 billion for the next quarter disappointed investors following the stock's strong rally. Western Digital declined roughly 10.8%, despite posting revenue of $3.75 billion, up 44% year-over-year, and EPS of $3.56, as elevated AI-related expectations and stronger results from Seagate meant that simply beating consensus estimates was not enough.
- Albemarle shares gained around 8% thanks to a significant improvement in earnings supported by stronger commodity prices, while Moderna erased its initial gains despite receiving FDA approval for its influenza vaccine.
- US labour market data were mixed. Initial jobless claims came in at 199,000 versus expectations of 205,000 and 198,000 the previous week (revised), while continuing claims rose to 1.801 million, above the 1.789 million consensus forecast. The figures indicate that new layoffs remain limited, although workers who lose their jobs are taking longer to secure new employment.
- Nonfarm productivity increased at an annualised rate of 1.4% in the second quarter, exceeding expectations of 0.6%, while unit labour costs rose only 1.3% compared with the expected 2.1%, providing a relatively benign signal regarding cost pressures. June wholesale inventories increased 0.2% month-over-month, but wholesale sales declined 3.0% after May's revised 3.5% increase, pointing to a notable monthly slowdown in demand. In contrast, the European data flow disappointed, with eurozone retail sales falling well short of expectations and highlighting weaker consumer demand across the region.
- The US dollar strengthened, with the DXY index rising around 0.3% to nearly 99.97. US two-year Treasury yields climbed to approximately 4.25%, while 10-year yields increased to around 4.66-4.67%, as the rebound in oil prices and a more hawkish repricing of Federal Reserve policy outweighed the softer labour cost data.
- Gold remained close to $4,300 per ounce, slipping around 0.1%, while silver declined approximately 1.1% to $61.6, reacting more strongly to the stronger dollar and higher bond yields. Bitcoin traded near $64,700, gaining roughly 0.6% over the past 24 hours, while Ethereum advanced around 2.3% to $1,910, clearly outperforming BTC.
- The latest complete data for August 5 showed net inflows of $244.4 million into US spot Bitcoin ETFs, including $196.8 million into BlackRock's IBIT. Spot Ethereum ETFs attracted $60.8 million, with ETHA accounting for $50.3 million of the inflows.
- According to The Information, Nvidia is testing three variants of its Rubin Ultra GPU and plans to make a decision regarding shortages of advanced memory chips. Nvidia shares were down just under 0.2% on the day.
- According to the EIA, US natural gas inventories increased by 33 billion cubic feet (bcf), above the expected 30 bcf and the previous week's 28 bcf build. On an annual basis, inventories were 12 bcf lower. Storage levels remained 195 bcf above the five-year average of 2,922 bcf, with total inventories still within the historical range observed over the past five years. Declining cooling demand and rising supply from the Permian Basin point to weakening market fundamentals toward the end of summer. On the other hand, the next five days could bring the last significant seasonal increase in domestic gas demand as exceptionally hot weather boosts cooling needs.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (US30, D1)
US30 is down nearly 800 points today after approaching the 55,000 level during Wednesday's session, setting a fresh all-time high. Despite today's pullback, overall sentiment toward U.S. equities remains constructive, with intraday volatility relatively subdued.
Source: xStation5
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