Overnight Headlines 7th August 2026

 

Morning Pack

Friday 7 August 2026 · Market levels captured around 05:41–05:53 BST · Calendar times shown in GMT

Market tone: Asian equities are mixed and US futures point to a softer cash open as investors await July payrolls. Oil and Treasury yields are higher after Iran published a restrictive proposal governing traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, while the dollar is firmer and gold is heading for its strongest week since January.

Overnight Headlines

1. Oil rises on concerns over Strait of Hormuz reopening plans — Iran’s draft would restrict US and Israeli-linked vessels and allow fines of up to 20% of cargo value.
2. Dollar drifts higher as traders eye Iran talks ahead of US jobs data — higher oil and Treasury yields support the greenback.
3. Gold heads for its best week since January with US jobs data in focus.
4. Jane Street in talks to shift its $11bn debt to investors including Pimco.
5. US court tells Meta to pay nearly $1bn over social-media harm to children.
6. Google shifts AI power back to Sergey Brin as DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis steps aside.
7. China’s trade growth remains strong but slows — July exports rose 23.9% y/y and imports 27.5%; the $112.50bn surplus was below the $125.62bn prior reading.

Asia-Pacific

Index	Level	Net	%
Nikkei 225	65,314.31	−368.95	−0.56%
Shanghai Composite	3,919.511	+19.158	+0.49%
Shenzhen Component	14,295.078	+184.957	+1.31%
Hang Seng	25,567.85	+37.57	+0.15%
ASX 200	9,271.20	−0.40	0.00%
KOSPI	6,243.74	−52.64	−0.84%
Straits Times	5,685.73	+46.74	+0.83%
NZX 50	13,876.56	−81.50	−0.58%

Wall Street Close

Index	Close	Net	%
Dow Jones	53,885.10	−464.02	−0.85%
Nasdaq Composite	26,348.352	−15.087	−0.06%
S&P 500	7,709.96	−13.59	−0.18%
Russell 2000	3,001.547	−17.641	−0.58%
VIX	15.15	−0.66	−4.17%

US Futures

Contract	Last	Day move	Implied open
Dow futures	53,889.0	−124.00 (−0.23%)	−181.10 (−0.33%)
S&P futures	7,730.0	−4.75 (−0.06%)	−17.96 (−0.23%)
Nasdaq futures	29,498.75	+10.50 (+0.04%)	−49.58 (−0.17%)
Russell futures	3,003.8	−5.30 (−0.18%)	−11.75 (−0.39%)

US Treasuries

Maturity	Yield	Change
2-year	4.251%	+0.6 bp
5-year	4.398%	+0.9 bp
10-year	4.684%	+1.4 bp
20-year	5.240%	+2.1 bp
30-year	5.232%	+2.0 bp

Yield changes converted from percentage-point moves into basis points.

FX

Pair	Price	Net	%
USD/JPY	158.35	−0.07	−0.0442%
EUR/USD	1.1523	−0.0001	−0.0087%
GBP/USD	1.3452	−0.0001	−0.0074%
AUD/USD	0.7025	−0.0005	−0.0711%
USD/CNY	6.7467	−0.0021	−0.0311%
USD/KRW	1,418.85	−4.04	−0.2839%
USD/CHF	0.8125	+0.0005	+0.0616%
USD/CAD	1.4019	+0.0007	+0.05%

Commodities

Contract	Price	Net	%
WTI crude Sep ’26	$78.38	+$1.09	+1.41%
Brent crude Oct ’26	$83.88	+$1.39	+1.69%
Natural gas Sep ’26	$2.637	−$0.003	−0.11%
RBOB gasoline Sep ’26	$2.9695	+$0.031	+1.05%
Heating oil Sep ’26	$3.930	+$0.048	+1.24%
Gold spot	≈$4,254/oz	≈+$24	≈+0.57%

Economic Calendar — GMT

Main event: US July payrolls at 12:30 GMT. Consensus is for an 85,000 rise in headline payrolls, unemployment at 4.2% and average hourly earnings of 0.3% m/m.

Time	Event	Actual	Forecast	Previous
06:00	UK Lloyds House Price Index m/m (Jul)	—	0.2%	0.2%
06:00	UK Lloyds House Price Index y/y (Jul)	—	0.4%	0.6%
06:00	German Industrial Production m/m (Jun)	—	0.2%	0.9%
06:00	German Trade Balance (Jun)	—	€17.2bn	€19.1bn
09:00	UK Mortgage Rate (Jul)	—	—	6.60%
12:30	US Average Hourly Earnings y/y (Jul)	—	3.5%	3.5%
12:30	US Average Hourly Earnings m/m (Jul)	—	0.3%	0.3%
12:30	US Nonfarm Payrolls (Jul)	—	85K	57K
12:30	US Participation Rate (Jul)	—	—	61.5%
12:30	US Private Nonfarm Payrolls (Jul)	—	78K	49K
12:30	US U6 Unemployment Rate (Jul)	—	—	7.9%
12:30	US Unemployment Rate (Jul)	—	4.2%	4.2%
15:00	NY Fed 1-Year Consumer Inflation Expectations (Jul)	—	—	3.7%
17:00	US Baker Hughes Oil Rig Count	—	452	451
17:00	US Baker Hughes Total Rig Count	—	—	588
19:00	US Consumer Credit (Jun)	—	$11.40bn	−$0.18bn

Commentary

Jobs report sets the direction: The payroll release is likely to determine whether the early rise in Treasury yields and the dollar extends. A stronger wage or payroll print would reinforce the more hawkish rate narrative; a weak report would challenge it and could reverse part of the overnight bond sell-off.

Hormuz risk is back in the price: Brent and WTI are higher after Iran’s proposed framework appeared more restrictive than markets had hoped. The plan remains under review rather than a final agreement, but the possibility of selective vessel bans and cargo-linked fines has restored a geopolitical premium.

Asia is divergent: Mainland Chinese shares outperform after still-strong trade figures, while Japan and South Korea lag. The KOSPI remains the weakest major regional market this morning, extending pressure after its powerful first-half AI-led rally.

Rates remain the pressure point: The US 10-year is at 4.684% and the 30-year at 5.232%. With energy prices rising and Fed commentary still focused on inflation restraint, long-duration equities remain vulnerable even though Nasdaq futures are relatively resilient.