Market Brief — July 30, 2026

US equities rallied, with the Dow (DJIA) up 1.2%, the S&P 500 (SPX) up 1.7%, and the Nasdaq (^IXIC) up 2.8% as mixed big-tech earnings and a chip rally lifted risk assets. In Europe, the CAC 40 (FRA40) rose 0.9% and the DAX (DAX) gained 0.6%, while the FTSE 100 (UKX) slipped 0.1% as Q2 eurozone GDP printed 0.4% q/q and 1.0% y/y and the Bank of England held Bank Rate at 3.75%. Asian trading was muted, with China’s Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) flat on the day, while FX markets saw sharp moves as USD/JPY (USDJPY) fell below 160 after the yen strengthened more than 3% intraday on intervention speculation.

The FOMC kept the federal funds target at 3.50%–3.75% with a 9–3 split in favor of no change, while advance Q2 US GDP grew 1.5% annualized versus 2.1% consensus and real final sales to private domestic purchasers rose 3.9%, pointing to slower headline growth but firm underlying demand as core PCE held at 3.3% and headline PCE at 3.7% year-on-year. Long-end Treasuries sold off as the 30-year yield reached about 5.22% and the 10-year traded around 4.70%, while the 2-year slipped toward 4.24%; at the same time the DXY dollar index fell roughly 0.5%–0.9% after the Fed decision, Brent crude traded near $90 per barrel alongside a large US crude inventory draw, and gold rose toward USD 4,064–4,150 per ounce on safe-haven flows. In Europe, eurozone Q2 GDP beat expectations at 0.4% q/q and 1.0% y/y, with Germany, France and Italy each up 0.2% and Spain up 0.7%, while the Bank of England held Bank Rate at 3.75% in a 6–3 vote and projected inflation could approach 4.5% by mid-2027 if oil remains above $100.

Commodities and FX were volatile as spot gold XAUUSD held near $4,030–$4,100 per ounce after a roughly 2% jump following the Fed hold, Brent crude fell about 1% to $90 a barrel and September WTI futures CLU26 slipped 0.19% with RBOB gasoline RBU26 down 2.29% amid renewed US–Iran strikes, drone attacks on shipping, refinery disruptions and the resumption of Caspian Pipeline Consortium loadings. Currency moves were sharp as USD/JPY dropped below 160, with intraday lows near 158.34 and a more than 3% yen rally stoking speculation of unannounced official intervention after the Fed decision and ahead of the Bank of Japan meeting. Equity sentiment was driven by tech and health care results: AI-heavy big-tech earnings lifted the Nasdaq (^IXIC) 2.8%, the S&P 500 (SPX) 1.7%, the Dow (DJIA) higher and SOXX more than 8%, with chip names such as Micron jumping roughly 16%–18% and AMD about 13%, while Regeneron REGN beat Q2 expectations with $4.29 billion in revenue, $14.29 non-GAAP EPS and about $1.2 billion of buybacks and Hyatt H delivered $1.829 billion of Q2 revenue and $1.12 adjusted EPS but trimmed its 2026 net rooms growth outlook to around 6%. eBay completed its acquisition of Depop and Etsy completed the sale of Depop, while The Farmer Companies closed a $17 million Series A financing led by former Dot's Pretzels CEO Randy Johnson. Announced transactions included Group 1’s agreement to acquire Hennessy automobile dealerships in the Atlanta market, Wealth Enhancement’s purchase of Cloud Investments with over $462 million in client assets, and EQT Real Estate’s planned EUR 532 million acquisition of a 14-asset pan-European logistics portfolio. Additional announced deals featured Truelink Capital’s definitive agreement to buy JT Thorpe Group, corporate actions disclosed by Frasers Group plc under German takeover law, and technology transactions in which Nscale agreed to acquire Anyscale and Soulloop agreed to acquire Astrolumi.AI.