Global Stocks Hold Near Record High, Yen Weakens: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — Global stocks held near record highs and futures pointed to further gains after a tech-led Wall Street rally followed a month of high volatility. The yen gave back some of its recent advance that was triggered by US and Japanese intervention.
The MSCI All Country World Index held around 1,130, just below its all-time high of 1,136.59. A tech-led rally on Wall Street on Monday lifted the S&P 500 Index to within striking distance of a record. Palantir Technologies Inc. surged 14% in extended trading after raising its forecasts. Europe stock futures pointed to gains, while Asian shares lagged as persistent volatility in South Korea weighed on sentiment.
The yen slipped 0.3% to 157.54 per dollar during the Asian session. The currency had surged more than 4% over the previous four days on coordinated action by the US and Japan.
Treasuries pared some of Monday’s gains as oil rebounded from the previous session, when optimism that geopolitical tensions in the Middle East was easing sent the commodity lower. Treasury 10-year yield rose two basis points to 4.69% as West Texas Intermediate climbed 1.2%, after sliding 5% on Monday.
Monday’s rebound in US technology shares followed a volatile month as investors questioned whether billions of dollars of spending on artificial intelligence will translate into stronger growth and profits. Geopolitical developments and US jobs data later this week also remain in focus as traders assess whether lower oil prices will ease inflation pressures and influence interest-rate expectations.
“Investors are essentially waiting for data to force a clearer read on rate direction rather than trading on rhetoric,” said Billy Leung, an investment strategist at Global X Management. “Friday’s US payrolls print — that’s the next real test.”
Another potential challenge for markets comes Tuesday, when SpaceX reports its first earnings as a public company.
It also sets the stage for one of the largest share unlocks in capital markets history, with as much as $116 billion of stock becoming eligible for sale for the first time next month.
“Investors are cautious ahead of SpaceX earnings and job reports while they digest a mixed picture on the Middle East,” said Fabien Yip, a market analyst at IG International in Sydney.
On Monday, a Wall Street rally saw a gauge of megacaps post its best day since March and a gauge of semiconductor stocks rose about 1%. But the volatility in the sector is rippling across the industry, with Coatue Management’s hedge fund plunging 8.3% last month as the selloff in AI stocks whipsawed another tech-focused money manager.
Sentiment on Wall Street assets remained more positive with Nasdaq 100 futures rising 0.4%. While Palantir gained in post market, Amazon.com Inc. dropped 1.6% post-market after Chair Jeff Bezos disclosed plans to sell shares. A three-day rally helped the company reach a $3 trillion market value on Monday.
In Japan, bond futures sank and government bond yields rose after a 10-year bond sale had its weakest demand since May 2025.
The on-again, off-again nature of US-Iran diplomacy may mean earnings and jobs data will have to do the heavy lifting for the bulls this week, according to Chris Larkin at E*Trade from Morgan Stanley.
In the countdown to a slew of jobs figures, data on Monday showed US manufacturing activity expanded in July at the fastest pace in more than four years, production surged and firms added workers.
Forces that propelled US stocks to record highs this year remain “firmly intact” after a reset in retail investors’ speculative trading, according to Citadel Securities’s Scott Rubner.
“Markets are transitioning from a flow-driven environment back to one increasingly dictated by earnings, corporate demand, and the macroeconomic backdrop,” he wrote.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
S&P 500 futures rose 0.2% as of 2:26 p.m. Tokyo time Nikkei 225 futures (OSE) fell 0.4% Japan’s Topix fell 0.2% Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.3% Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.7% The Shanghai Composite rose 0.3% Euro Stoxx 50 futures rose 0.3% Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro was unchanged at $1.1509 The Japanese yen fell 0.2% to 157.57 per dollar The offshore yuan was little changed at 6.7545 per dollar Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin was little changed at $63,763.56 Ether fell 0.2% to $1,863.59 Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 4.69% Japan’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 2.850% Australia’s 10-year yield advanced four basis points to 4.97% Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.2% to $81.28 a barrel Spot gold rose 0.2% to $4,063.04 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Elaine Lai and Abhishek Vishnoi.
©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
