Stock Market Update

Equity futures point to a modestly higher opening this morning after yesterday's mixed finish that saw Alphabet (GOOG 229.51, -1.59, -0.7%) lead a nice rally among tech and mega-cap names while the broader market lagged. 

Alphabet's impressive rally followed a favorable ruling in an antitrust case against the company that allows the company to keep its Chrome browser and continue to pay companies to preload it on devices.

The Financial Times reports that the Trump administration is still set on pursuing a breakup of the company, with the head of the DOJ, Gail Slater, stating, "We're not done."

In what promises to be another high-profile case, President Trump has sought an appeal in the U.S. Supreme Court to a ruling that found the majority of his global tariffs illegal. The president has asked for an expedited schedule, asking the court to pick up the case by September 10 to begin arguments in early November.

Headlines are fairly quiet elsewhere, though the market will receive some important economic data today, including the ADP Employment Change at 8:15 a.m. ET, the weekly jobless claims report at 8:30 a.m. ET, and the July ISM Services PMI at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Additionally, the market is digesting a small but diverse slate of earnings reports with mixed reactions.

In corporate news:

• American Eagle (AEO 17.16, +3.49, +25.6%) beat EPS expectations by $0.25 and beat revenue expectations, though comparable sales fell 1%. 
• Apple (APPL 237.68, -0.79, -0.3%) is planning to release an AI internet search tool that will fuse with the company's Siri voice assistant, according to Bloomberg. 
• Caterpillar (CAT 415.12, -0.00, -0.0%) The U.S. is concerned about Norway's divestment from the company, according to Reuters.
• Figma (FIG 57.48, -10.65, -15.63) reported EPS and revenues in-line, guided Q3 EPS above consensus, and guided FY25 revenues in-line.
• Salesforce CRM (238.20, -18.25, -7.1%) beat EPS expectations by $0.13, reported revenues in-line, guided Q3 EPS and revenues in-line, and guided FY26 EPS above consensus with revenues in-line.

Reviewing overnight developments:

Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended Thursday on a mostly higher note. Japan's Nikkei: +1.5%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng: -1.1%, China's Shanghai Composite: -1.3%, India's Sensex: +0.2%, South Korea's Kospi: +0.5%, Australia's ASX All Ordinaries: +0.9%.

In news:

• China is considering implementing new restrictions on stock speculation after China's market reached its best level in a decade.
• BYD reportedly reduced its sales target for 2025 by 16%.
• Japan's JGBs finished modestly higher, pressuring the 30-yr yield from a record level.
• Meanwhile, Japan's Ministry of Finance said that current budget requests for next fiscal year are up about 6.3% year-over-year.

In economic data:

• South Korea's July Current Account surplus $10.78 bln (last surplus of $14.27 bln)
• Australia's July trade surplus AUD7.31 bln (expected surplus of AUD4.88 bln; last surplus of AUD5.37 bln). July Imports -1.3% m/m (last -1.5%) and Exports 3.3% m/m (last 6.3%)

Major European indices trade on a mostly higher note while France's CAC (-0.2%) lags due to a sharp loss in Sanofi after disappointing trial results. STOXX Europe 600: +0.5%, Germany's DAX: +0.8%, U.K.'s FTSE 100: +0.2%, France's CAC 40: -0.2%, Italy's FTSE MIB: +0.4%, Spain's IBEX 35: +0.6%.

In news:

• The Bank of England's Decision Maker Panel raised its year-ahead CPI outlook to 3.3% from 3.2% while the three-year outlook was increased to 2.9% from 2.8%.
• Germany's ifo Institute lowered its domestic growth forecast for 2025 to 0.2% from 0.3% while the outlook for 2026 was reduced to 1.3% from 1.5%.

In economic data:

• Eurozone's July Retail Sales -0.5% m/m (expected -0.3%; last 0.6%); 2.2% yr/yr (expected 2.4%; last 3.5%)
• Swiss August CPI -0.1% m/m (expected 0.0%; last 0.0%); 0.2% yr/yr, as expected (last 0.2%). August Unemployment Rate 2.9%, as expected (last 2.9%)