Three major indexes closed higher on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average reaching a new all-time high. Over the weekend, former President Trump stated he had called off a planned military strike against Iran, adding that negotiations between the two nations resumed on Monday.
US Markets
At the close, the Dow surged 693.14 points, or 1.32%, to 53,178.17. The Nasdaq jumped 540.04 points, or 2.13%, to 25,913.90. The S&P 500 gained 110.76 points, or 1.48%, to 7,600.48. Microsoft (MSFT.US) and Google (GOOG.US) each climbed nearly 5%, while Tesla (TSLA.US) and Nvidia (NVDA.US) rose approximately 3%. Meta (META.US) advanced 6%. SanDisk (SNDK.US) added 6%, whereas SK Hynix (SKHY.US) fell 0.7%. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index closed up 0.75%, with Alibaba (BABA.US) rising 4%.
European Markets
Germany's DAX 30 climbed 386.44 points, or 1.51%, to 26,017.22. The UK's FTSE 100 dipped 13.15 points, or 0.12%, to 10,854.90. France's CAC 40 added 104.18 points, or 1.22%, to 8,613.82. The Euro Stoxx 50 rose 72.34 points, or 1.14%, to 6,430.35. Spain's IBEX 35 increased 186.21 points, or 0.94%, to 19,969.11. Italy's FTSE MIB gained 684.47 points, or 1.31%, to 52,857.00.
Asian Markets
Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.94%, while South Korea's KOSPI index dropped 5.12%.
US Dollar Index
The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, edged down 0.02% to 99.894 in late trading. At the New York close, the euro traded at $1.1514, down from $1.1531 in the previous session. The British pound stood at $1.3431, lower than the prior $1.3482. The dollar weakened against the yen, trading at 156.74, down from 158.90. The dollar firmed against the Swiss franc at 0.8101, up from 0.8082. Against the Canadian dollar, the greenback rose to 1.4045 from 1.4019. The dollar also strengthened against the Swedish krona, reaching 9.5557 from 9.5193.
Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin hovered near $63,000, briefly breaking above $64,000. Ethereum fell 1.26% to $1,858.47.
Crude Oil
Light sweet crude oil for September delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange dropped $4.33 to settle at $80.34 per barrel, a decline of 5.11%. London Brent crude oil for October delivery lost $4.16 to close at $83.77 per barrel, a fall of 4.73%.
Precious Metals
Spot gold was quoted at $4,055.09 per ounce, while spot silver traded at $58.16 per ounce.
Macro News
Twenty-five US states have filed a lawsuit challenging the latest tariff measures imposed by the administration. Court documents reveal that the states, led by Democratic attorneys general, argue the president's tariffs on goods from 60 trading partners exceed his legal authority. The attorneys general claim the new tariffs are merely a replacement for previous measures that were already struck down by the US Supreme Court, noting they are unlawfully broad and bypass the legal investigation process required for specific countries.
The US Treasury Department raised its estimate for net marketable borrowing in the July-September quarter to $739 billion, assuming a cash balance of $950 billion at the end of September. This figure is $68 billion higher than the estimate released in May, primarily due to expected lower net cash inflows. For the October-December quarter, the Treasury estimates borrowing of $628 billion, with a projected cash balance of $850 billion at the end of December. The April-June quarter saw borrowing of $190 billion, roughly in line with the $189 billion estimate from May. Further details on the Treasury's quarterly refunding will be released on August 5 at 8:30 AM ET.
According to "Fed Whisperer" Nick Timiraos, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell could become the fourth individual in decades to serve a full 14-year term as a Fed governor. The last three to complete such a term were Alan Greenspan (1992-2006), George Mitchell (1962-1976), and William McChesney Martin Jr. (1956-1970). All three had previously served partial terms on the Board of Governors before starting their full 14-year terms. If Powell remains in office until January 2028, he would join this group, having already served 14 years on the Board with his formal 14-year term beginning in 2014.
US manufacturing activity expanded at its fastest pace in over four years in July, driven by robust demand, surging production, and increased hiring. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reported that its Manufacturing PMI rose to 55.6 in July, the highest level since May 2022. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, and the sector has now been in growth territory for seven consecutive months. The production index surged to 58.5, the highest since late 2021, while the employment gauge showed manufacturers added workers for the first time since September 2023. New orders, a key indicator of demand, also rebounded. The manufacturing sector has shown strong momentum this year, supported by solid consumer spending, robust business investment, and government defense spending. All but one of the 18 manufacturing industries reported growth in July, including printing, apparel, and electrical equipment. The only sector reporting contraction was chemical products.
Stock News
President Donald Trump stated on Monday that Exxon Mobil (XOM.US) and Chevron (CVX.US) are making "too much money" due to the Iran war pushing oil prices higher. "They're making a fortune based on a supply shortage, and I don't like it," Trump told reporters at the White House. Both companies reported strong second-quarter profits last Friday. Chevron's profit surged nearly 400% to $12 billion from $2.5 billion a year earlier, while Exxon Mobil's profit more than doubled to $14.5 billion from $7.1 billion. "Chevron's making too much money. Exxon's making too much money," Trump said, adding that they should pass some of those gains back to the public and lower retail prices for consumers.
The head of Amazon (AMZN.US)'s cloud division said customers are beginning to shift from using the company's services to train AI models to integrating those models into their own business processes, which is driving demand for inference computing. Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman noted on Monday, "We're still seeing some companies using large training clusters, but as models become more popular and powerful, more companies are embedding this inference capability into their own workloads." He described the potential of the AI business as "tremendous" and said the company will continue to increase capital spending to meet rising demand. Amazon, the world's largest provider of computing capacity and data services, stated last week that it expects capital spending to reach $220 billion in 2026, up from a previous forecast of $200 billion. The increased spending reflects higher costs for memory chips and other components needed for data centers.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has granted certification for Boeing (BA.US)'s 737 Max 7, ending a nearly decade-long delay. The smallest variant of the 737 family, airlines had expected to operate the model before the COVID-19 pandemic. However, certification was delayed due to heightened regulatory scrutiny following fatal crashes of the 737 Max 8 in 2018 and 2019, other safety and manufacturing crises, and a redesign of the engine anti-ice system. With certification secured, airlines can begin passenger operations relatively soon, though integrating the aircraft into flight schedules typically takes several months. Boeing is still awaiting FAA certification for two other long-delayed models: the 737 Max 10 and its largest jet, the 777X.
Analyst Ratings
BNP Paribas raised the price target for Western Digital (WDC.US) from $1,050 to $1,275.
BofA Global Research initiated coverage on Best Buy (BBY.US) with an Underperform rating and a price target of $80.
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