Friday, 31 July 2026

Overnight Headlines 31st July 2026

 CHARTING NEWS

Morning Market Pack

Friday, 31 July 2026 · Prices around 07:05 BST
Overnight snapshot
Asian risk assets rebounded sharply, led by an extraordinary 18.17% surge in South Korea's Kospi, while Japan and mainland China also rallied. US index futures point to a positive open, with Nasdaq futures outperforming after strong results from Amazon and the previous session's technology-led advance. Oil and gold are lower, while Treasury yields have eased modestly across the belly and long end.

Asia-Pacific

MarketLastNet%
Nikkei 22564,301.80+2,434.37+3.93%
Shanghai Composite3,835.318+30.625+0.80%
Shenzhen Component13,709.951+424.151+3.19%
Hang Seng25,802.01-56.87-0.22%
ASX 2008,978.70+11.00+0.12%
Kospi6,610.11+1,016.55+18.17%
Straits Times5,626.65-46.93-0.83%
NZX 5013,699.28-63.50-0.46%

Asia commentary: The rebound is highly concentrated in technology and semiconductors. South Korea's move is exceptional and reflects both short-covering and renewed AI optimism after the previous rout. Japan also rallied strongly despite weaker retail sales, while the BOJ kept rates unchanged at 1.0%. Mainland Chinese equities advanced even though official manufacturing and non-manufacturing PMIs slipped below 50.

US previous close

IndexCloseNet%
Dow Jones52,208.06+613.92+1.19%
Nasdaq Composite25,122.177+679.235+2.78%
S&P 5007,437.63+121.48+1.66%
Russell 20002,946.101+39.791+1.37%
VIX17.09UNCHUNCH

US commentary: Wall Street finished sharply higher, led by technology after Microsoft posted a record one-day increase in market value. Amazon's results added to the positive tone, with net sales of $200.6bn and AWS sales of $42.23bn both above expectations. Apple beat quarterly estimates but weak guidance and supply constraints weighed on the shares after hours.

US futures

ContractLastDay moveImplied open
Dow futures52,623.0+243.00 (+0.46%)+174.94 (+0.33%)
S&P futures7,509.25+36.75 (+0.49%)+19.62 (+0.26%)
Nasdaq futures28,583.5+345.75 (+1.22%)+217.15 (+0.77%)
Russell 2000 futures2,969.1+14.80 (+0.50%)+6.00 (+0.20%)

US Treasuries

MaturityYieldChangeBasis points
6-month3.966%+0.020+2.0bp
1-year4.045%+0.023+2.3bp
2-year4.233%+0.004+0.4bp
3-year4.282%-0.001-0.1bp
5-year4.368%-0.005-0.5bp
7-year4.506%-0.010-1.0bp
10-year4.651%-0.012-1.2bp
20-year5.201%-0.014-1.4bp
30-year5.191%-0.016-1.6bp

Rates commentary: The curve is mixed, with the very front end slightly higher but intermediate and long maturities easing. The 10-year yield remains elevated at 4.651% and the 30-year at 5.191%, keeping financial conditions restrictive despite the modest overnight rally in bonds.

FX

PairLastNet%
USD/JPY160.49+0.98+0.61%
EUR/USD1.1509-0.0018-0.1562%
GBP/USD1.3446-0.0018-0.1337%
EUR/GBP0.8558-0.0001-0.0117%
USD/CHF0.8071+0.0021+0.2609%
AUD/USD0.7029+0.0004+0.06%

FX commentary: The yen is again weakening after reported intervention ahead of the BOJ decision, with USD/JPY back above 160. Both the euro and sterling are softer against the dollar, while the Swiss franc is also weaker. The currency market remains highly sensitive to official Japanese action and any change in US rate expectations.

Commodities

CommodityLastNet%
WTI crude (Sep)$81.66-1.93-2.31%
Brent crude (Sep)$87.10-1.93-2.17%
Natural gas (Sep)$2.772+0.014+0.51%
Gold$4,080.130-22.91-0.56%

Commodities commentary: Crude is retreating as recovering traffic through the Strait of Hormuz reduces the immediate supply-risk premium. Gold is also lower as the dollar firms and markets continue to debate the path of US rates.

Economic calendar — GMT

TimeCurrencyEventActualForecastPrevious
06:00GBPNationwide HPI YoY (Jul)1.8%1.9%2.2%
06:00GBPNationwide HPI MoM (Jul)0.1%0.1%0.0%
07:55EURGerman unemployment change (Jul)5K-1K
07:55EURGerman unemployment rate (Jul)6.3%6.3%
09:00EURCore CPI YoY (Jul, prelim.)2.4%2.4%
09:00EURCPI YoY (Jul, prelim.)2.9%2.8%
09:00EURCPI MoM (Jul, prelim.)-0.1%
11:15GBPBoE MPC member Pill speaks
12:30USDEmployment Cost Index QoQ (Q2)0.8%0.9%
13:45USDChicago PMI (Jul)56.056.7
14:00USDMichigan 1-year inflation expectations (Jul)4.2%4.6%
14:00USDMichigan 5-year inflation expectations (Jul)3.3%3.3%
14:00USDMichigan consumer expectations (Jul)54.050.7
14:00USDMichigan consumer sentiment (Jul)54.449.5

Today's focus

The market is balancing a sharp recovery in global technology shares against still-elevated bond yields and geopolitical risk. Watch whether the Kospi's record rebound holds into the close, whether USD/JPY remains above 160 after intervention, and whether the Nasdaq can sustain its futures-led advance. European inflation data and the US Employment Cost Index are the main scheduled macro catalysts, followed by final Michigan inflation expectations and sentiment.

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