Market Brief — August 3, 2026

US equities rallied after a stronger ISM Manufacturing PMI print, with the S&P 500 (SPX) up 1.5%, the Dow (DJIA) up 1.3%, and the Nasdaq (^IXIC) up 2.1%. In Europe, the DAX (DAX) gained 1.5% and the CAC 40 (FRA40) rose 1.2%, while the FTSE 100 (UKX) edged down 0.1% as investors assessed the ECB deposit rate at 2.25%. In Asia, the Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) finished unchanged on the day despite high-importance July manufacturing PMI releases on the China calendar.

Global policy remained steady but with hawkish nuance as the FOMC kept the federal funds rate at 3.50–3.75% with a 9–3 vote that included three dissents for an immediate 25 bp hike, while officials projected year-end rates in a 3.6%–4.1% range and the ECB deposit rate held at 2.25%. New York Fed President Williams said policy is 'well positioned' but that the Fed will raise rates again if inflation does not converge to the 2% PCE goal by 2028, noting that tariff effects have largely passed through and that energy prices have likely peaked though risks remain from the Middle East. On the data side, the ISM Manufacturing PMI for July rose to 55.6 from 53.3 and beat the 54 consensus as the Employment Index improved to 52.8 from 49.7 and Prices Paid eased to 71.1 from 73, while a 1.53% weekly drop in the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY), firm gold above $3,950, and modest base-metal gains underscored improving manufacturing sentiment and focus on upcoming US payrolls and China inflation prints.

Amazon's equity rally continued as its market capitalization exceeded $3 trillion and the share price reached a record near $286.20, with coverage linking the move to optimism around Amazon Web Services and AI-driven cloud demand and to a series of analyst upgrades and price-target hikes. Beiersdorf (BEId) cut its 2026 outlook and launched an 18‐month NIVEA turnaround plan, now guiding for low‐single‐digit organic sales declines for both the Consumer segment and the Group versus prior flat‐to‐slightly‐growing expectations and targeting at least an 11.8% 2026 EBIT margin for the Group after reporting H1 organic net sales down 3.5% to EUR 4,952 million. Crypto and space names were active after American Bitcoin Corp. reported a Q2 2026 net loss of $57.2 million driven by about $71.2 million of unrealized losses on its digital assets despite mining a record ~932 bitcoin, while SpaceX (SPCX) faced a volatile setup ahead of an expiring lockup that will free 911.5 million shares, about 12% of the total and $25 billion of tradable stock, with roughly 34% of the float held short. Atlas Air Worldwide completed a strategic investment in Air Atlanta, and Vandemoortele USA finished the final phase of its acquisition of New Jersey-based Banneton Bakery, while Codis closed the purchase of Catalent's Nottingham, UK facility to expand its European spray-dry network. In technology and services, EXL completed its acquisition of iMerit and HCLTech closed the acquisition of HPE's telco solutions business, and Carrier completed the sale of its NORESCO unit to Opterra Energy Services. Hydrofarm completed the sale of Aurora Peat Products and launched its Project Agility logistics initiative, United Community Banks closed its merger with Peach State Bancshares, and Zions Bancorporation completed the acquisition of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's multifamily business line from Basis Investment Group, while Wafra announced the acquisition of a Class‐A industrial portfolio in Brownsburg, Indiana.