U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters ahed of boarding Marine One to depart for New Jersey, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 1, 2025.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ July’s jobs report revised previous months’ figures down so dramatically that U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday called it “RIGGED” and “CONCOCTED.”
Markets, however, seem to have shrugged off their worries for now — U.S. stocks rebounded Monday from the sell-off on Friday after the report was released. But the move could be more of an instinctive reflex than a reflection of what’s really driving markets.
“Today is sort of a bounce-back day,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research. “Stocks tend to pop after a drop, so that’s what’s happening.”
“We have to wait and see what happens tomorrow, because there could be a possibility that investors think, ‘You know what, we really need to take some money off the table to digest some of these gains,'” he added.
Trump’s new tariffs come into force on Aug. 7, so there’s a possibility investors could seize this opportunity, when markets have recovered slightly from Friday’s losses, to take profit first — and before any further slowdown, as suggested by July’s jobs report, is potentially “rigged” and strikes the U.S. economy.
What you need to know today
Trump will ‘substantially’ raise tariffs on India. The South Asian country’s oil purchases from Russia is the cause behind Trump’s threat. In response, India said it was being “targeted” by the U.S. and EU, and criticized them as “indulging in trade with Russia.”
The EU will suspend its planned U.S. tariffs for six months. The countermeasures, which would have taken effect on Aug. 7, were delayed to allow the bloc to “further negotiate” with the U.S. and “finalise a Joint Statement” on their trade deal.
U.S. stocks rebound from Friday’s losses. Major U.S. indexes rose Monday, with the S&P 500 snapping a four-day losing streak. Asia-Pacific markets traded higher Tuesday, though India’s Nifty 50 fell as it began trading for the day.
Palantir’s quarterly revenue exceeds $1 billion. Wall Street had expected the software provider to hit that milestone only in the fourth quarter of the year. But a 48% year-over-year jump in second-quarter revenue helped Palantir beat forecasts.
[PRO] The ‘Magnificent Seven’ are powering earnings growth. Year on year, Mag 7 earnings have increased by 26%. The other S&P 500 companies posted a combined 4% growth — a disparity that could be problematic for investors, according to an analyst.
And finally…
Rene Haas, CEO of chip tech provider Arm Holdings, holds a replica of a chip with his company’s logo on it on March 5, 2025.
Hasnoor Hussain | Reuters
How an obscure SEC proposal could boost listings on European stock exchanges
The Securities and Exchange Commission is in the early stages of a proposal to tighten the rules for foreign companies that trade on U.S. exchanges. It’s a move that could inadvertently prompt dozens of stocks to seek a secondary listing in London or another major financial center.
The plan targets the definition of a “Foreign Private Issuer.” One of the key changes being floated would require FPIs to have an active listing on a “major” non-U.S. exchange to qualify for exemptions from some regulatory requirements.
— Ganesh Rao