Overnight U.S. Stocks | July Nonfarm Payrolls Unexpectedly Declined, S&P 500 Hits All-Time Closing High, SpaceX (SPCX.US) Surges Nearly 16%

According to Zhitong Finance APP, on Friday, the three major indices closed higher, with the S&P 500 Index reaching a historic closing high. U.S. nonfarm payrolls in July unexpectedly fell by 23,000, marking the first decline since February; the July unemployment rate slightly dropped to 4.1%, the lowest level since June 2025. Traders expect this data to prompt the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates unchanged.

This week, all three major U.S. stock indices posted notable gains. The Dow Jones rose 2.96%, the Nasdaq gained 5.19%, and the S&P 500 Index increased by 3.58% cumulatively.

[U.S. Stocks] At the close, the Dow Jones rose 151.83 points, or 0.28%, to 54,036.93 points; the Nasdaq climbed 342.26 points, or 1.30%, to 26,690.62 points; the S&P 500 Index rose 47.68 points, or 0.62%, to 7,757.64 points. SpaceX (SPCX.US) surged 15.8%, Qualcomm (QCOM.US) gained 4.6%, and Nvidia (NVDA.US) rose 2.2%. Most memory stocks closed lower, with SK Hynix (SKHY.US) down nearly 4% and Micron Technology (MU.US) fell 0.4%. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index closed up 0.7%. Optical communication sector soared, with Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI.US) up 9%, Lumentum (LITE.US) gaining 6.2%, Corning (GLW.US) up 5.4%, and Marvell Technology (MRVL.US) up 3.8%.

[European Stocks] Germany's DAX30 rose 163.94 points, or 0.63%, to 26,329.17 points; the UK FTSE 100 increased 35.52 points, or 0.33%, to 10,903.41 points; France's CAC40 advanced 15.22 points, or 0.17%, to 8,714.93 points; the Euro Stoxx 50 climbed 22.09 points, or 0.34%, to 6,524.65 points; Spain's IBEX35 lost 16.42 points, down 0.08%, to 20,163.98 points; Italy's FTSE MIB gained 59.28 points, or 0.11%, to 53,742.00 points.

[Asian Stocks] Nikkei 225 fell 0.12%, South Korea's KOSPI dropped 0.6%.

[U.S. Dollar Index] The dollar index, which measures the dollar against six major currencies, fell 0.39% on the day, closing at 99.539 in the FX market. As of the close in the New York FX market, 1 euro exchanged for 1.1564 dollars, up from 1.1524 dollars the previous trading day; 1 pound exchanged for 1.3499 dollars, up from 1.3457 dollars the previous trading day. One dollar exchanged for 157.55 yen, down from 158.33 yen the previous trading day; one dollar exchanged for 0.8076 Swiss francs, down from 0.8122 Swiss francs the previous trading day; one dollar exchanged for 1.3937 Canadian dollars, down from 1.4014 Canadian dollars the previous trading day; one dollar exchanged for 9.4701 Swedish kronor, down from 9.5068 Swedish kronor the previous trading day.

[Cryptocurrencies] Bitcoin briefly surpassed $65,000, and was last reported at $64,888; Ethereum rose 0.5%, standing at $1,914.

[Crude Oil] The price of light crude oil futures for September delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 89 cents to close at $78.18 per barrel, up 1.15%; the price of London Brent crude oil futures for October delivery rose $1.06 to close at $83.55 per barrel, up 1.29%.

[Precious Metals] Spot gold rose 2.39% to $4,341.45; spot silver rose more than 3.2%, reporting $63.489.

[Macro News]

Iranian officials say overall framework for Hormuz Strait passage has been clarified with Oman. Local time on the 7th, Hassan Keshkavi, spokesperson for the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of Iran's Parliament, stated that Iran and Oman have clarified the overall framework for the memorandum of understanding related to navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. The final text and specific details will be announced soon. On August 6, Iran publicly released the initial draft details of the proposed strategic management plan for the Strait of Hormuz, which includes banning hostile parties from passing through the strait; violators could face fines of up to 20% of the value of goods. Iran has repeatedly emphasized recently that arrangements regarding the Strait of Hormuz should be negotiated only between Iran and Oman, refusing any external interference. U.S. President Trump stated on the 6th that the United States is participating in negotiations regarding the Strait of Hormuz.

Yellen: The nonfarm report underestimates the potential strength of the U.S. economy. U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen wrote on social media: “Today’s job report underestimates the potential strength of the real economy: American domestic businesses are building, factories are producing, and workers’ productivity is improving. July marked the fifth consecutive month of employment growth in the goods-producing sector. Since the start of this year, the goods-producing sector has created 105,000 jobs, the most robust seven-month start since 2023. Additionally, productivity growth in the second quarter was more than double the expected level, creating favorable conditions for sustained U.S. economic growth and real wage growth for American workers. Strong economic growth expectations in the third quarter further indicate that the U.S. economy is likely to accelerate. When America produces more goods and worker productivity continues to rise, the domestic economy will benefit: wages will be higher, companies will be stronger, consumers will have more choices, and economic expansion will be built on supply-side strength that can reduce inflation, rather than on transient stimulus effects.”

Media: Trump moves to dismiss Federal Reserve Governor Cook, formally initiating dismissal proceedings for “gross dereliction of duty.” According to reports, sources state that Trump is advancing with the removal of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. People familiar with related correspondence revealed that the White House sent a letter to Cook this week stating that Trump “is considering” removing her from the Federal Reserve Board and requests her response to related accusations within three weeks. The action follows a Supreme Court ruling in June that upheld restrictions on the president’s attempts to remove Federal Reserve members. After the ruling, Trump stated he would “immediately take appropriate action” to remove Cook. Trump appears to have fulfilled this promise this week by formally initiating her removal based on unadjudicated mortgage fraud accusations, citing “gross dereliction of duty.” The letter was signed by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino, who argues that even if the accusations do not constitute a crime, Cook’s conduct amounts to misconduct. Cook’s attorney Lowell issued a statement: “These accusations are baseless, and we will challenge this latest pretext.”

OpenAI suspends development of new Astra model, concerned about its potential key cyberattack capabilities. According to reports, OpenAI said it cannot rule out that its upcoming model Astra possesses “critical” cyber capabilities, prompting OpenAI to expand safety testing and suspend internal activities that do not meet more stringent safety requirements. This is the latest sign of the rapid enhancement of AI models’ cyber abilities. OpenAI said after internal evaluation of Astra, “We cannot rule out that it has critical cyber capabilities.” Before releasing Astra, OpenAI will expand model testing and safety measures, and under the company’s “Preparedness Framework” first issued in 2023, slow Astra’s development until proper safety protections are in place. OpenAI also stated Astra was not involved in the Hugging Face vulnerability attack. This may be the first case of a pioneering AI lab promising to slow down development of its AI models due to cybersecurity concerns.

New York Fed Survey: U.S. consumers become more optimistic about employment and inflation outlook. A survey released Friday by the New York Fed showed that overall expectations for the job market improved among Americans in July, while expectations for future inflation declined. The survey indicated that, if unemployed, respondents believed their probability of finding a new job rose to 46.2%, the highest so far this year. This improvement was most evident among those with a high school education or less and those with annual household incomes below $50,000. Meanwhile, consumers’ one-year-ahead inflation expectations edged down slightly from 3.7% to 3.6%. Their expectations for inflation three and five years out remained unchanged at 3.3% and 3%, respectively. However, consumers still feel concerned about the overall labor market. The average probability of the unemployment rate rising in the next year increased, a trend seen broadly across all age and income groups. The perceived likelihood of losing one’s job within the next year also inched up, but remains lower than the 12-month average.

[Major Brokerage Ratings]

Wedbush: Upgraded Airbnb (ABNB.US) from Neutral to Outperform, raising target price from $152 to $200

Stifel: Raised Cloudflare (NET.US) target price from $260 to $370

Morgan Stanley: Resumed coverage of Baker Hughes (BKR.US) with an Overweight rating, target price $70