Morning Market Roundup: US Payrolls, China CPI, and Tech IPOs
US stocks reached record closing highs on Friday, with the S&P 500 and Dow both hitting all-time peaks, while the Nasdaq gained over 1%. This came despite unexpectedly weak employment data. The July non-farm payrolls report showed a decline of 23,000 jobs, contrary to expectations of growth, and the previous two months were revised down by 103,000. However, the unemployment rate fell to 4.1%, its lowest in over a year. Over the week, oil prices fell nearly 8%, while gold futures rose over 7%.
Geopolitical tensions continued as Iran and Oman failed to reach a final agreement on reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has refused direct negotiations with the United States. President Trump indicated he is taking a "low-key" approach to the Iran issue, favoring increased economic pressure over military action. Meanwhile, the US Senate passed a temporary funding bill, averting an immediate government shutdown.
In China, July consumer prices rose 0.5% year-on-year, a slowdown from the previous month, while producer prices increased 3.5%. Notably, AI-driven tablet prices surged 11.3% month-on-month. The People's Bank of China added to its gold reserves for the 21st consecutive month, accelerating purchases in July.
Several tech companies announced significant developments. Unitree Robotics launched its IPO subscription on the STAR Market at 150.80 yuan per share. Moore Threads reported a 147% surge in first-half revenue and a sharp narrowing of net losses, and plans to list H-shares in Hong Kong. Cambricon saw both revenue and net profit double in the first half. China Rare Earth's net profit increased 46.5%, with cash flow soaring 1658%.
Berkshire Hathaway's second-quarter net profit doubled, and the company executed its largest stock buyback in five years, with Google entering its top five holdings. The conglomerate net purchased $20 billion in stocks. In South Korea, SK Hynix reportedly plans a $71 billion shareholder return program, with 40% allocated to share buybacks. Finally, OpenAI revealed its largest pretraining model, named Doug.