Market Daily

Equity Market Updates

Apple (AAPL US)

US technology giant Apple announced on Monday that it appealed the EUR500mln fine from the European Commission for the company’s alleged violation of the European Union's Digital Markets Act, calling the penalty “unprecedented” and the regulator’s required changes to its App Store as “unlawful”.

The European Commission announced the fine in April, saying that Apple violated rules related to allowing developers to steer users to make purchases outside of its store.

Since then, Apple changed its EU App Store policies in June to meet local requirements, introducing a tiered commission structure and allowing developers to promote out-of-app payment processing for digital goods.

MARKET CONSENSUS: 35 BUYS, 20 HOLDS, 3 SELLS, AVERAGE TP USD225.48

Dow Inc (DOW US)

Shares of materials science and chemical manufacturing company Dow fell on Monday after its board approved the shutdown of three upstream assets in Europe, citing structural challenges in the region.

The plant shutdowns are expected to begin in mid-2026 and is estimated to be complete by the end of 2027. It will also lead Dow to record charges ranging from USD630mln to USD790mln.

The market will closely watch how this will impact Dow’s top- and bottom-line going forward.

MARKET CONSENSUS: 4 BUYS, 16 HOLDS, 4 SELLS, AVERAGE TP USD32.42

Capgemini (CAP FP)

French consulting group Capgemini announced on Monday that it had agreed to buy technology outsourcing company WNS for a cash payment of USD3.3bln to capitalize on their Agentic AI offerings. This is likely to improve Capgemini’s competitive positioning and thus support its share price going forward.

With this acquisition, Capgemini aims to create a consulting business service focused on guiding enterprises on how to reform their operations through Generative AI and Agentic AI, which it said would attract "significant" investments. The company also expects the deal to be immediately accretive to its revenue and operating margin.

MARKET CONSENSUS: 16 BUYS, 3 HOLDS, AVERAGE TP EUR182.89

Daimler Trucks (DTG GR)

Daimler Truck, one of the world's biggest truckmakers, reported a 5% decrease in 2Q sales on Monday, dragged by lower demand in the US market. This may negatively impact the company’s bottom-line and thus its share price going forward.

Daimler Truck said that it sold 106,715 trucks and buses in 2Q, compared with 112,195 a year earlier. The North America segment accounted for 38,580 units, down 20% YoY, while the Asia segment recorded a 13% increase in unit sales to 26,443 vehicles.

MARKET CONSENSUS: 11 BUYS, 8 HOLDS, 2 SELLS, AVERAGE TP EUR44.05

Samsung Electronics (005930 KS)

South Korean technology company Samsung on Tuesday reported preliminary operating profit that fell roughly 56% from a year earlier, hurt by US curbs on China-bound AI chips.

The company is also struggling to regain its footing on high-bandwidth memory chips, critical for powering Nvidia’s AI accelerators, and is fighting to catch up to rival SK Hynix, which has aggressively positioned itself as Nvidia’s primary HBM4 supplier.

This lack of momentum may put downward pressure on Samsung’s stock price going forward.

MARKET CONSENSUS: 36 BUYS, 5 HOLDS, AVERAGE TP KRW73333.34

Earnings Announcements

Global Indices Changes (%)

Fixed Income Market Updates

EUROPEAN BANK COCO (AT1)

The AT1 market opened flat despite broader macro weakness stemming from tariff negotiations. Institutional accounts still have cash to deploy from fund inflows and AT1 bond redemptions, making technical strength and momentum trading more critical than valuations.

ASIA INVESTMENT GRADE (IG)

In China IG, spreads tightened by 1 basis point after a solid performance last Friday. The week began positively, with strong buying interest in longer-duration bonds. FWD Group drew attention post oversubscribed IPO, with buyers seeking its 2031 and 2033 bonds. Tongyang Life from Korean IG market benefiting from a roughly 17% surge in its stock price, while its bonds tightened by 8 basis points amid speculation that Woori Bank would raise its ownership stake from 75% from 100%.

ASIA HIGH YIELD (HY)

In China HY, benchmark names remained largely unchanged amid subdued trading activity. The New World Development complex dipped by 0.25 to 0.5 points as investors exercised caution, awaiting clarity on potential financing options. The technical outlook for the Macau gaming sector remains robust, with limited selling flows. However, the non-China HY space started the week on a softer note, with benchmark names declining by 0.125 to 0.5 points, influenced by weaker equities and ongoing trade tension concerns. 

Forex Market Updates

USD

The US Dollar rose sharply against other major currencies on Monday, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced new tariffs set to go into effect on August 1 for a spate of countries including Japan and South Korea. Trump posted letters to the leaders of several countries on his social media platform, saying that he would impose tariffs of 25% on Japan and South Korea. He also sent letters to the leaders of Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Myanmar, South Africa and Laos, all of which outlined tariffs close to the levels previously announced for each country in April. The Dollar index extended gains from last week when data reflecting labour market resilience pushed back expectations for imminent monetary policy easing by the Federal Reserve.

With the global trade uncertainty, the Dollar looks to be gaining bullish momentum in the short term and may test the resistance level at the 98 handle. 

AUD

The Australian Dollar weakened further against the US Dollar on Monday, marking its third consecutive daily decline, as investors grow increasingly confident the Reserve Bank of Australia will deliver another rate cut at Tuesday’s meeting. A recent report showed that Australia's inflation dropped to the lowest level in over three years. The monthly CPI rose 2.1% in May, down from 2.4% in the previous month. The closely-watched trimmed mean core inflation increased by 2.4% in May, which is inside the bank's 2-3% target band. Inflation has continued falling in the past few months, and analysts expect the trend to continue. Markets have almost fully priced in a rate cut from the Reserve Bank of Australia on Tuesday with a 95% probability, bringing the Official Cash Rate down from 3.85% to 3.60%. This would mark the third reduction in 2025, as the central bank continues to respond to a weakening economic backdrop.

With the expected rate cut by the Reserve Bank of Australia, the Aussie looks to be consolidating between 0.6460 and 0.6580 in the short term.

GBP

The British Pound slipped on Monday in a lackluster start to a week packed with economic data reports that could offer clues to the interest rate outlook, while globally investors watched the latest deadline on U.S. tariffs. Last week saw investors in UK assets rattled by ambiguities around the health of public finances, as a number of U-turns by the governing Labour Party over welfare reforms sparked speculation around the future of finance minister Rachel Reeves. Traders are now shifting their focus to a set of data this week, with Monday bringing a report that showed British house prices stagnated month-on-month during June as expected, after an increase in tax on property transactions took effect in April. Later in the week, traders will scrutinize a report on gross domestic product that could offer clarity on the health of the UK economy and determine the outlook on interest rates.

Sterling is likely to remain under pressure from the UK’s fiscal and political uncertainty and looks poised to see further near term weakness below the 1.3600 handle

XAU

Gold prices pared earlier losses on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 25% tariff on goods from Japan and South Korea starting August 1, prompting some safe-haven interest, though a strong U.S. dollar continued to add pressure on the yellow metal. Last week, data showed U.S. job growth was unexpectedly solid in June. Also, concerns about tariff-driven inflation have led to expectations of slower Federal Reserve rate cuts. Minutes from the Fed's last meeting due later this week could shed more light on the U.S. central bank's rate cut path. Elsewhere, China's central bank added gold to its reserves in June for an eighth consecutive month, official data from the People's Bank of China showed on Monday. Bank of America in a note said central banks are buying gold to diversify reserves, reduce reliance on the U.S. dollar, and hedge against inflation and economic uncertainty, adding that it expects the trend to continue.

Gold prices look poised to consolidate above support around 3250 for the time being.

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