US EQUITY OPEN: Stocks open green amid slew of trade updates and as Trump picks Miran to replace Kugler at the Fed

OPEN: Stocks open in the green on Friday with all sectors green but outperformance in Healthcare, Financials and Energy, while Utilities, Real Estate and Communication lag. US President Trump announced just before the close on Thursday that CEA Chair Miran will be the replacement for Fed Governor Kugler until the end of January, giving Trump more time to think of who he wants as the next Fed Chair - Waller is seen as a favourite. On trade, Trump said that there will be no tariff talks with India until things get resolved, while after meetings between US and Japan, Japan said they have been able to confirm the non-stacking stance on tariffs from the US and it will refund Japan any extra tariffs retroactively going back to 7th August. There were also reports India paused plans to buy US arms, but this was later denied by the Indian MoD. Meanwhile, Brazil is reportedly implementing a four-pronged strategy to respond to the tariff hike by the US on Brazil. T-Notes are lower across the curve with weakness led in the long-end, following a weak 30yr bond offering on Thursday, while the Dollar is benefitting from the higher yields. FX price action is rather mundane but the Yen is the clear laggard amid a higher UST yield environment. CAD saw some marginal weakness after a soft jobs report. Elsewhere, gold prices are flat, but FT reported that the US hit one-kilo gold bars with tariffs in a blow to Switzerland. Looking ahead, attention turns to remarks from Fed's Musalem (2025 voter) and the Baker Hughes Rig Count data. 

STOCK SPECIFICS:

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  Tesla (TSLA): Disbanding its Dojo supercomputer team and its leader, Peter Bannon, is leaving, Bloomberg reports.


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  Intel (INTC): CEO has board support


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  Motorola Solutions (MSI): EPS & rev. beat alongside raising guidance


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  Akamai (AKAM): Top & bottom line w/ strong next Q & FY outlook


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  Take-Two (TTWO): Shallower than exp. loss per shr., net bookings beat & raised guidance


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  The Trade Desk (TTD): Outlook didn’t offer much upside & Co. announced the departure of its CFO


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  Expedia (EXPE): EPS & rev. surpassed exp.


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  Under Armour (UAA): Dismal next Q profit view


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  Monster Beverage (MNST): Q2 metrics impressed


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  Block (XYZ): Impressive numbers & strong guidance


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  Gilead Sciences (GILD): Top & bottom line beat w/ lifted outlook


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  Pinterest (PINS): Q2 profits fell short


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  Twilio (TWLO): Weak guidance

08 Aug 2025 - 14:52- ForexGeopolitical- Source: Newsquawk