The U.S. earnings season is nearing its end, with 489 companies in the S&P 500 having reported results. Roughly 79.6% topped analyst profit estimates, while 79.2% exceeded revenue forecasts. Aggregate second-quarter revenue is projected to rise 6.3% year-on-year, with profit growth running at 13%.
On the geopolitical front, images from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit suggest that President Donald Trump’s effort to marginalize India has faltered. Chinese President Xi Jinping also floated the idea of creating a SCO Development Bank, underscoring the increasingly multipolar structure of global governance.
In Europe, French lawmakers enter a crucial week of negotiations as Prime Minister Bayrou’s government faces a confidence vote on Sept. 8. Political uncertainty in Paris comes as key data releases loom: China’s Caixin Manufacturing PMI, and Spain, Italy, France, Germany and the Eurozone’s HCOB manufacturing surveys, alongside Eurozone unemployment figures.
Despite a late-week selloff in artificial intelligence shares, U.S. equities ended August higher, with the S&P 500 up 1.9% for the month. Investors remain watchful of Trump’s renewed attacks on Federal Reserve independence, and whether such rhetoric could alter long-term inflation expectations and market sentiment.
Legal risks also weighed on the president. On Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled his tariff policy illegal, shifting the battle to the Supreme Court.
Global markets opened the week with a cautious tone. The dollar index (DXY) edged 0.2% lower, a move that could provide support for the Brazilian real.
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