Stock Market Update

Equity futures point to a mostly higher open this morning as the stock market looks to kick off a week that could be relatively devoid of market-moving catalysts. The S&P 500 is set to open just above its baseline after a relatively quiet previous week, though the index did set new record highs and extended its weekly winning streak to three weeks.

A strong Q2 earnings season continues to wind down, though a host of notable retailer names are set to report results this week.

On the geopolitical front, oil is flat as the U.S.-Iran ceasefire is set to expire today. CNBC reports that tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains exceptionally low.

Stocks weathered higher oil prices last week, with some relief coming from easing expectations of Fed tightening after several tame inflation readings. There are only a few data points on the calendar this morning (none of which are typically market movers) to kick off a relatively quiet week of releases.

In corporate news:

• Alibaba (BABA 126.88, +3.07, +2.5%) is aiming to sell game developer unit Lingxi Games for more than $2 billion, according to Reuters.
• Memory names are trading higher in the premarket after U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said that the Trump administration does not want Apple (AAPL 307.15, +1.22, +0.4%) buying Chinese memory chips, according to The Wall Street Journal.
• NVIDIA (NVDA 226.74, +1.58, +0.7%) downsized plans to guarantee a $250 billion OpenAI Ohio data center, according to The Wall Street Journal. 

Reviewing overnight developments:

Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region began the week on a mostly higher note while South Korea's markets were closed for a holiday. Japan's Nikkei: +0.7%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng: +1.3%, China's Shanghai Composite: +1.4%, India's Sensex: -0.4%, South Korea's Kospi: CLOSED, Australia's ASX All Ordinaries: -0.4%.

In news:

• China's growth figures for July were shy of expectations while Japan's flash Q2 GDP report (0.3% qtr/qtr; 0.5% expected) was also underwhelming, hurt by high prices and lower business spending.
• JGBs retreated despite the miss since the market remains on watch for more rate hikes from the Bank of Japan.
• President Trump scaled back annual joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises.
• Alphabet is planning to sell Australia dollar-denominated debt.

In economic data:

• China's July Industrial Production 4.5% yr/yr (expected 5.0%; last 5.3%), July Fixed Asset Investment -6.7% yr/yr (expected -6.2%; last -5.7%), July Retail Sales 0.6% yr/yr (expected 1.5%; last 1.0%), July Unemployment Rate 5.2% (expected 5.1%; last 5.0%)
• Japan's flash Q2 GDP 0.3% qtr/qtr (expected 0.5%; last 0.5%); 1.1% yr/yr (expected 2.0%; last 1.9%). Q2 GDP Capital Expenditure -1.2% qtr/qtr (expected 0.4%; last -1.0%), Q2 GDP External Demand 0.5% qtr/qtr (expected 0.3%; last 0.3%). Q2 GDP Private Consumption 0.0% qtr/qtr (expected 0.5%; last 0.5%). Q2 GDP Price Index 2.6% yr/yr (expected 2.4%; last 3.2%). June Industrial Production 1.9% m/m (expected 1.3%; last 0.1%) and Capacity Utilization 4.1% m/m (last 0.1%)
• South Korea's July trade surplus $30.39 bln (expected $30.32 bln; last $36.09 bln). July Imports 26.5% yr/yr, as expected (last 30.0%) and Exports 63.0% yr/yr (expected 62.8%; last 70.7%)
• Singapore's July trade surplus SGD10.72 bln (last surplus of SGD13.87 bln). July non-oil Exports -0.3% m/m (last -8.8%); 24.2% yr/yr (last 24.4%)
• New Zealand's July Performance of Services Index 50.6 (last 50.9). July Electronic Card Retail Sales 1.3% m/m (last -1.3%); 3.4% yr/yr (last 1.3%). July FPI 0.1% m/m (last 0.6%)

Major European indices trade near their flat lines while Italy's MIB (+0.4%) outperforms with help from STMicroelectronics, Ferrari, and select bank stocks. STOXX Europe 600: +0.1%, Germany's DAX: +0.1%, U.K.'s FTSE 100: +0.2%, France's CAC 40: -0.1%, Italy's FTSE MIB: +0.4%, Spain's IBEX 35: -0.2%.

In news:

• Swiss food distributor SIG Group is down more than 15% after announcing an unexpected CEO change.
• There is growing focus on the U.K.'s property market after Rightmove reported a sharp drop in average new listed asking prices for homes.
• Fitch affirmed the U.K.'s AA- rating with a Stable outlook.

There is no economic data of not today.