The earnings season continues to generate significant price moves. Palantir beat estimates overnight, largely thanks to large government contracts, lifting the tech group's stock more than 10% in extended trading.
The broad picture of U.S. manufacturing last month was similarly impressive, with yesterday's latest surveys showing factory growth running at its fastest pace in four years, despite sky-high input prices.
Oil ticked up slightly on Tuesday after dropping 7% yesterday, amid confusion about what could happen next in the Gulf. President Donald Trump's claim that talks with Iran would take place on Monday was denied by Tehran, which said the only talks underway were with Oman over the Strait of Hormuz.
Another ship was attacked near this critical waterway on Monday. Traffic through Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb strait has remained minimal and largely unchanged recently.
Meantime, the yen story went somewhat quiet after Tokyo and Washington's heavy joint intervention to lift the ailing Japanese currency last week. The yen eased slightly against the dollar early on Tuesday but stayed well above recent 40-year lows.
We may now be entering a period in which markets and authorities play something of a cat-and-mouse game to test Tokyo's resolve to draw a line under the currency. But for now, things are calmer.
Elsewhere, results season saw HSBC profits jump and the bank resume buybacks, echoing the bumper quarter enjoyed by the world's other big banks.
Later today, SpaceX's earnings, due after the bell, will shed light on Starlink profits and how far they can bankroll the rocket maker's growing AI capex.
And, finally, the week's U.S. labor market releases will kick off later today with job openings data for June, ahead of the July employment report on Friday.
With that, onto today's column.
