- Asia-Pacific stocks mostly close higher as investors weigh tariffs, OPEC+ output hike: Markets Wrap
Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose Monday as investors assessed the U.S.′ latest round of tariffs and jobs report,
which pushed Wall Street lower last Friday and spurred bets on a rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve next
month. Asia-Pacific markets mostly ended higher Monday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.92% to close
at 24,732.55, while mainland China’s CSI 300 index increased by 0.39% to 4,070.70. Japan’s Nikkei
225 benchmark ended the day 1.25% lower at 40,290.70, while the broader Topix index fell 1.10% to 2,916.20.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s Kospi index advanced 0.91% to close at 3147.75, while the small-cap Kosdaq rose
1.46% to 784.06. Over in India, the 50-stock benchmark Nifty 50 was up 0.49%, while the BSE Sensex index
added 0.42% as of 1.40 p.m. Indian Standard Time (4.10 a.m. ET). - Dow rebounds nearly 600 points and wipes out Friday’s loss, S&P 500 ends four-day losing run
Stocks jumped Monday as investors clawed back the steep losses seen in the previous session that were
sparked by concerns over the U.S. economy and a new round of tariffs from the Trump administration. The Dow
Jones Industrial Average soared 585.06 points, or 1.34%, to close at 44,173.64 and wipe out Friday’s big sell
off. The S&P 500 advanced 1.47% to end at 6,329.94, snapping a four-day losing run and posting its best session
since May. The Nasdaq Composite surged 1.95% to settle at 21,053.58. - Gold extends gains on U.S. rate cut expectations
Gold prices rose for a third straight session on Monday after last week’s economic data fuelled expectations
of interest rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve. Spot gold rose 0.2% to $3,371.85 per ounce as of 1:47 p.m. ET
(5:47 GMT), its highest level since July 24. U.S. gold futures gained 0.8% to $3,427.1. According to the CME
FedWatch tool, traders now see an 85% chance of a September rate cut, up from just over 63% a week ago. - Oil falls as OPEC+ proceeds with September output increase
Oil prices dropped on Monday after OPEC+ agreed to another large output hike in September, though traders
remained wary of further sanctions on Russia. Brent crude futures fell 91 cents, or 1.31%, to close at $68.76 a
barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude declined $1.04, or 1.54%, to settle at $66.29 a barrel. Both
contracts closed about $2 lower on Friday. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their
allies, known as OPEC+, agreed on Sunday to raise oil production by 547,000 barrels per day for September,
the latest in a series of accelerated output hikes to regain market share. The move, in line with market
expectations, marks a full and early reversal of OPEC+’s largest tranche of output cuts, amounting to about 2.5
million bpd, or about 2.4% of world demand. - U.S. dollar gains after Friday’s slump as Fed cuts loom; Swiss franc drops
The U.S. dollar modestly recovered on Monday after a trio of market-moving events on Friday that highlighted
the fragility of the greenback: a dismal U.S. jobs report, the resignation of a Federal Reserve Governor, and
President Donald Trump’s firing of a top statistics official. Those developments battered the currency and
prompted investors to ramp up bets of imminent Fed rate cuts. The greenback steadied on Monday; last
trading flat at 147.32 yen. The euro slipped on Monday to $1.1562, while sterling was little changed at $1.3281.
Against a basket of currencies, the dollar rose 0.2% to 98.82, after sliding more than 1.3% on Friday. The dollar
rose 3.4% in July, its biggest monthly gain since a 5% jump in April 2022 and first monthly rise of the year, as
markets became more at ease with Trump’s trade policy and economic data had remained resilient in the face
of tariffs. - EU will delay planned U.S. tariffs for six months to allow for trade talks
The European Union announced Monday that it will suspend for six months its planned
countermeasures against the United States’ tariffs, which were set to take effect this week. “On 27 July 2025,
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US President Donald J. Trump agreed a deal on
tariffs and trade,” the EU Commission spokesperson for trade said in a statement. The spokesperson touted
the agreement as restoring “stability and predictability for citizens and businesses on both sides of the
Atlantic.” The EU continues to work with the US to finalise a Joint Statement, as agreed on 27 July,” the
spokesperson said. “With these objectives in mind, the Commission will take the necessary steps to suspend
by 6 months the EU’s countermeasures against the US, which were due to enter into force on 7 August.” The
pause on the countermeasures is expected to formally take effect Tuesday. - Swiss tensions run high as clock ticks on U.S. tariff deadline
Tensions and fears are running high in Switzerland, as the deadline to strike a trade agreement with the U.S.
looms just days away. Without a deal, Switzerland faces 39% duties on its goods imported into the U.S., after
it was hit with one of the highest new tariff rates under U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest trade policy shift
last week. The higher duty surprised many, as widespread reports had previously suggested a trade agreement
was near, and was just missing Trump’s signature. In a statement Monday, the Swiss government said it would
continue its negotiations with the U.S., including beyond the current Aug. 7 deadline if necessary. Swiss stocks,
which slid on Monday as stock markets reopened from a national holiday, pared losses in afternoon deals. - Donald Trump to raise tariffs on India over Russian oil purchases
Donald Trump has said he plans to “substantially” raise tariffs on imports from India because of its purchases
of Russian oil, in a new escalation of tensions between Washington and New Delhi. The US president’s warning
comes after India failed to reach an agreement with the White House to secure lower levies on its exports to
America last week, unlike other top trading partners, including the EU. Trump has also threatened to crack
down more aggressively on Russia’s ability to finance its war in Ukraine as he struggles to broker a settlement
in the conflict between Moscow and Kyiv. Vacancy to fill. Kugler of late has expressed generally hawkish views,
with support for holding rates steady until the impact Trump’s tariffs are having on inflation becomes clearer. - Tesla awards Musk $29 billion in shares with prior pay package in limbo
Tesla’s board has awarded CEO Elon Musk an interim pay package of 96 million shares, according to a filing out
Monday, which would be worth about $29 billion. The company said in the filing that Musk’s new package will
include shares that vest in two years as long as he continues as CEO or in another key executive position. The
award will be forfeited if the legal battle over Musk’s 2018 compensation ends with him being able to exercise
shares from that package, which was valued at $56 billion when it vested. Tesla stock climbed more than 2%
on Monday. Musk owns roughly 13% of Tesla’s outstanding shares, and his level of control over the electric
vehicle maker has been a regular topic online and with shareholders. In January 2024, Musk threatened to
develop artificial intelligence and robotics products outside of Tesla unless he gained greater control over the
company. - Baidu plans to expand its robotaxis to Europe with Lyft deal
Baidu will bring its driverless taxis to Europe next year via a partnership with U.S. ride hailing firm Lyft, as the
Chinese tech giant looks to expand its autonomous vehicles globally. Lyft has had very little presence in Europe
until last week when it closed the acquisition of Germany-based ride hailing company FreeNow, which is
available in over 150 cities across nine countries, including Ireland, the U.K., Germany and France. The
partnership marks a continued push from Baidu to expand its robotaxis to international markets. Last
month, Baidu partnered with Uber to deploy its autonomous cars on the ride-hailing giant’s platform outside
the U.S. and mainland China, with a focus on the Middle East and Asia, which will launch later this year. - MercadoLibre misses profit estimates as Brazil free-shipping boost hurts margins
Latin American e-commerce giant MercadoLibre on Monday posted a 1.5% dip in its second-quarter net profit
from a year earlier, missing analysts’ estimates, as increased free shipping in Brazil drove sales up but also hit
margins. MercadoLibre, Latin America’s largest company by market value, reported net income of $523 million
for the quarter through the end of June, below the $596 million expected by analysts. In early June,
MercadoLibre cut the threshold for purchases eligible for free shipping in Brazil, after also lowering shipping
costs for companies and users selling on its platform in May, amid fierce competition in the country’s e
commerce segment. Brazil, the firm’s main market, together with Mexico helped MercadoLibre to increase
total items sold by 31% in the quarter, the fastest pace year-on-year since mid-2021. - Broadcom launches Jericho chip to advance AI data centre networks
Broadcom’s silicon division launched its next-generation Jericho networking chip on Monday, which is designed
to connect data centres over 60 miles (96.5 km) apart and speed artificial intelligence computation. The
company’s Jericho4 introduces and improves several features that increase the amount of networking traffic
speeding across large networks that operate inside and between data centres. Building and deploying artificial
intelligence has become more computationally intensive and requires stringing together thousands of graphics
processors (GPUs). To help mitigate issues around network congestion, the Jericho4 chips use the same high
bandwidth memory (HBM) designers such as Nvidia and AMD use for their AI processors. In addition to
performance improvements, the Jericho4 also beefs up security by encrypting data. - Boeing hit by strike as union rejects deal, shares slip
More than 3,200 union members who assemble Boeing’s fighter jets in the St. Louis area and Illinois went on
strike on Monday after rejecting a second contract offer the previous day. Boeing Defence said it was ready for
the work stoppage and it will implement a contingency plan that uses non-labour workers. According to the
company, the rejected four-year contract would have raised the average wage by roughly 40% and included a
20% general wage increase and a $5,000 ratification bonus. It also included increasing periodic raises, more
vacation time and sick leave. “We’re disappointed our employees in St. Louis rejected an offer that featured
40% average wage growth,” Dan Gillian, Boeing vice president and general manager of the St. Louis facilities,
said in a statement. The offer was largely the same as the first offer that was overwhelmingly rejected one
week earlier. - Wayfair shares soar as Q2 profit, revenue beat expectations
Wayfair Inc. shares surged 12.3% after the online home furnishings retailer reported second-quarter results
that significantly exceeded analyst expectations, delivering its highest revenue growth and profitability since The company posted adjusted earnings of $0.87 per share for the quarter ended June 30, 2025,
substantially beating the analyst estimate of $0.33. Revenue rose 5% YoY to $3.27 billion, surpassing the
consensus forecast of $3.12 billion. Excluding the impact of Wayfair’s exit from the German market, revenue
growth was even stronger at 6% YoY. Despite the strong revenue performance, Wayfair’s active customer base
decreased 4.5% YoY to 21 million. However, the company saw a 5.9% increase in revenue per active customer,
which reached $572 for the trailing twelve months. Average order value also improved to $328 from $313 in
the same quarter last year.
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