Overview

• Equity markets showed little net movement on July 29 as traders positioned for a likely rate hold and watched for unanimous backing and any shift in tone from the Fed’s policy panel.
• The U.S. Labor Department’s JOLTS report revealed a sharper-than-expected drop in June job openings, underscoring easing labor-market tightness ahead of the Fed’s deliberations.
• Roughly 170 S&P 500 companies have reported Q2 results that largely met or beat forecasts, with Danone rallying on stronger sales and Merck unveiling a $3 billion annual cost-cutting plan involving job reductions.
• Investors will receive the first GDP estimate for Q2 today, followed by June’s PCE inflation gauge on Thursday and July unemployment figures on Friday, all key inputs for Fed guidance.
• U.S. 10-year Treasury yields eased toward 4.32% and transport stocks reacted to Union Pacific’s announcement of an $85 billion bid for Norfolk Southern to create a transcontinental freight network.