OPENING CALL
U.S. stock futures pointed to a slightly higher open as investors awaited key inflation data later today.
The July consumer price index figures will be closely followed by investors for insight on the effect of tariffs on shoppers. They will be a key element in determining whether the Federal Reserve cuts rates in September.
Inflation likely accelerated to a 2.8% annual rate as of July, or 3% on a core basis, according to a Wall Street Journal poll.
The inflation print comes as consumers were found to have only absorbed a small amount of the tariffs imposed by the White House, a burden Goldman Sachs thinks will start to shift from businesses to customers.
Elsewhere, investor fears of higher trade barriers between the U.S. and China taking effect today were eased as Trump renewed a 90-day extension on import taxes.
Stocks to Watch
Archer Aviation stock fell 10% after posting a wider-than-expected second-quarter loss.
BigBear.ai shares fell 29% after reporting negative second-quarter adjusted Ebitda.
Celanese shares fell 14% after expecting third-quarter adjusted profit below consensus.
Circle traded up 1.2% ahead of its first earnings report as a public company.
CoreWeave fell 1.7% before it was to report its second-quarter earnings.
Fluence Energy stock fell 11% after it said production was ramping up at a slower-than-expected pace.
Intel stock rose 3.3% after a meeting between CEO Lip-Bu Tan and Trump.
Mercury Systems rose 9.2% after fiscal fourth-quarter adjusted earnings and revenue exceeded forecasts.
Oklo fell 1.2% after posting a second-quarter loss per share.
Plug Power shares rose 1.3% after second-quarter revenue beat consensus.
Watch For:
U.S. consumer price index figures for July
Today’s Top Headlines/Must Reads:
– AI Is Forcing the Return of the In-Person Job Interview
– How to Measure Cybersecurity Spending: WSJ Readers Weigh In
– Forget the White House Sideshow. Intel Must Decide What It Wants to Be.
MARKET WRAPS
Forex:
The dollar traded steady against a basket of currencies as investors exercised caution ahead of U.S. inflation data expected later on.
The figures will offer what Danske Bank said would be crucial insights into the Fed’s upcoming decision.
U.S. inflation data at 1230 GMT could exceed forecasts but any dollar gains will probably be short-lived , ING said.
It added that higher-than-forecast inflation could still be consistent with the Fed cutting interest rates in September if accompanied by a further labor market deterioration.
HSBC said the market’s view regarding the degree of political interference in the function of the Fed could be a determining factor in the evolution of the dollar amid uncertainty regarding the central bank’s monetary policy.
The Swiss franc gained against the dollar and against the euro after Trump said he wouldn’t put tariffs on imported gold .
Sterling rose to a nearly two-week high against the euro, and could extend its gains after today’s slightly upbeat U.K. jobs data, ING said.
Bonds:
Treasury yields were little changed, if slightly higher, ahead of U.S. inflation data for July. Recent weak jobs data caused investors to anticipate the Fed could cut interest rates in September, while tariffs were expected to increase inflation.
Metals:
Gold futures were flat as investors positioned themselves ahead of U.S. economic data.
Base metal prices rose, with LME three-month copper and aluminum posting gains on a weaker dollar, though trading volumes were low.
Energy:
Oil prices were little changed, if a bit higher, after Trump extended a trade truce with China. Investors are now in a wait-and-see mode ahead of today’s U.S. inflation data.
The U.S.-China tariff truce extension eased pressure on crude futures , calming fears tensions would hurt economic activity and reduce demand. Uncertainty remained ahead of a meeting between the U.S. and Russia on the war in Ukraine, Exness said.
It comes as the momentum on WTI futures was shifting into bearish territory, according to StoneX.
TODAY’S TOP HEADLINES
China Creates World’s No. 1 Shipbuilder, Driven by Rivalry With U.S.
A $16 billion merger of two state-controlled shipbuilders in China is set for completion this week, creating the world’s biggest shipbuilder while the U.S. searches for a path back into the business.
American shipbuilders are playing catch-up after decades of maritime-industry decline, though President Trump’s ambitious plans to revive American shipbuilding have hit snags recently. In the shorter term, Trump’s threat to impose higher fees on ships made in China is giving South Korean and Japanese rivals an opening to win back market share.
With Billions at Risk, Nvidia CEO Buys His Way Out of the Trade Battle
Jensen Huang, chief executive of California-based chip designer Nvidia, worked for months behind the scenes in Washington and Beijing to protect tens of billions of dollars in future sales from the heated U.S.-China trade rivalry.
Huang told President Trump that restrictions on U.S. chip sales to China would backfire by pushing Chinese technology champions to achieve self-reliance. He advised the president to keep China hooked on American tech. As a sweetener, Huang said the company would invest as much $500 billion in the U.S.
Big Tech Pledged Billions for New Housing. The Results Aren’t Living Up to the Hype.
Tech giants Meta, Google and Apple made headlines when they pledged billions of dollars to make housing more affordable in their Silicon Valley backyards.
Now, six years later, the results haven’t lived up to expectations.
Intel’s stock is rising as Trump suggests a path forward after CEO’s White House visit
Intel Corp.’s chief executive visited the White House on Monday for a high-stakes meeting with President Donald Trump, which has seemed to de-escalate tensions between the chipmaker and Washington.
Just days after calling for him to quit over his ties to Chinese businesses, Trump posted on Truth Social that Monday’s meeting was “a very interesting one” and that Intel INTC CEO Lip-Bu Tan’s “success and rise is an amazing story.”
U.K.’s Labor Market Continues to Loosen
The U.K.’s jobs market continued to cool in the second quarter as businesses grappled with an increase in employment taxes, uncertainty about the outlook for trade, and cautious consumers.
The unemployment rate rose to 4.7% in the three months to June, from 4.5% in January to March, while the number of workers on payrolls fell by 26,000 between May and June, the Office for National Statistics said Tuesday.
Reserve Bank of Australia Cuts Rates and Points to Further Easing
SYDNEY-The Reserve Bank of Australia delivered its third interest rate cut since the start of the year, responding to evidence that inflation has cooled and new forecasts showing that it is likely to remain contained.
The 25 basis point reduction in the official cash rate to 3.60% on Tuesday follows similar cuts in February and May, and takes RBA’s policy setting closer to neutral. Economists had expected the decision.
Norway Oil Fund Grows in First Half on Equity-Market Strength
Norway’s sovereign-wealth fund returned 5.7% in the first half, driven by strong equity markets.
Norges Bank Investment Management-the arm of the central bank that manages the world’s largest sovereign-wealth fund, commonly known as the oil fund-said Tuesday that the fund had a market value of 19.586 trillion kroner ($1.914 trillion) as of June 30.
Lithium Bulls Getting Ahead of Themselves on China Supply Cut
The suspension of a big mine in China may be breathing new life into a depressed global lithium market, but the accompanying rally in shares of lithium producers has run too hard, too fast, analysts say.
Lithium stocks began the week with a bang, chasing prices for the battery metal higher after China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology, or CATL, said its license for a mine in Jiangxi province had expired and that production there had been suspended.
Russia Has High Hopes for Trump-Putin Summit. Peace Isn’t One of Them.
Expectations in Russia are running high ahead of Friday’s planned summit between Russian leader Vladimir Putin and President Trump.
Moscow sees an opening to reset relations with Washington, with Kremlin officials hinting at the potential for deals with the U.S. on infrastructure and energy in the Arctic and beyond, as Russia’s state media plays up what it bills as a looming entente between two equal great powers.
Trump to Nominate Bureau of Labor Statistics Critic to Lead Agency
President Trump said on Monday that he plans to nominate E.J. Antoni, the chief economist at the Heritage Foundation, to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Antoni, a longtime critic of the agency’s handling of jobs data, had the support of conservatives like former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon. The position requires Senate confirmation.
How Trump’s D.C. Police Takeover Is Uncharted Territory
President Trump said Monday he would take command of Washington, D.C.’s local police force, known as the Metropolitan Police Department, under a rarely cited provision of a 1973 federal law granting home rule to the capital city’s residents. Here’s what to know about Trump’s unprecedented move.
DOJ Request to Release Ghislaine Maxwell Grand Jury Materials Denied by Judge
A federal judge on Monday denied the Justice Department’s bid to release grand jury materials from its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, saying the request didn’t meet the high legal bar to make the secret materials public.
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August 12, 2025 06:25 ET (10:25 GMT)
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