Central-bank signals and earnings

US large caps were mixed: DJIA rose 0.36%, SPX gained 0.02% and ^IXIC ticked up 0.07% as investors absorbed mixed corporate results and central-bank signals. In Europe FRA40 climbed 0.43% and UKX added 0.13% while DAX slipped 0.03%; Asia's 000001.SS was flat (0.00%) amid reported selling pressure and policy headlines.

Consumer discretionary ETF XLY led sector gains (up about 1.8%) with defensive XLP up +1.14% and communication services XLC +0.61%. Energy ETF XLE lagged (-1.49%), while financials XLF (-0.83%) and tech ETF VGT (-0.57%) were among the weakest. Notable stock movers included DY (up roughly 25%–31%), LUNR (+15.72%) and IREN (+13.48%) on the upside, while ZS (down about 31%), WOLF (-13.93%) and BSX (-12.46%) were the largest decliners.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand held the OCR at 2.25% in a split 3-3 vote and signalled that rate rises are likely, which increased near-term rate expectations and supported NZD and short-end domestic rate instruments. Fed Governor Lisa Cook said she favors holding policy steady for now but is prepared to raise rates if disinflation fails to materialise, reinforcing conditional hawkishness and supporting repricing of near-term U.S. rate expectations. The Philadelphia Fed Q2 Price and Inflation Expectations Survey showed mixed signals — firms' mean expected own-price increases fell to 2.8% while median U.S. inflation expectations rose to 3.5% — adding ambiguity on inflation persistence.

Bath & Body Works (BBWI) reported Q1 results above guidance, reaffirmed full-year targets and disclosed a CFO transition, prompting traders to reassess near-term profitability and cash-generation assumptions. Mubadala's disclosed secondary block sale of roughly 22 million GlobalFoundries shares increased near-term float and pressured GFS liquidity and pricing ahead of settlement. BMO's strong Q2 results and dividend increase supported bank-sector sentiment, while upside reports from Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF), Modine (MOD) and Mesa Laboratories (MLAB) influenced sector flows in consumer and industrial names. Completed transactions included an Affinius capital-led investor consortium closing a $3.5 billion acquisition of Veris Residential, Greenhouse's completion of its acquisition of Ezra AI Labs, and Wheels Up finalising a global brand transition. Announced activity featured Diana Shipping increasing an all-cash offer to acquire Genco Shipping & Trading to $24.80 per share and multiple announced deals targeting logistics, AI and data-center assets.