Nasdaq Leads Wall Street Lower · Gold and Silver Retreat · Dollar Stabilizes · A-Shares Diverge

Market Overview

Global markets focused on three major themes on Tuesday.

First, all three major U.S. equity indexes closed lower. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.33% to 26,289.71, the S&P 500 declined 0.69% to 7,691.76, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.22% to 53,343.40. After several consecutive sessions of gains, investors turned more cautious, with capital temporarily rotating out of mega-cap technology stocks.

Second, commodities showed a mixed performance. Precious metals pulled back from elevated levels, with gold down 1.17% to $4,366, silver falling 3.30% to $63.94, and copper declining 1.84% to $6.48. Crude oil edged higher, with WTI gaining 0.52% to $84.94 and Brent rising 0.17% to $91.02, as supply risks surrounding the Strait of Hormuz remained a key focus for energy markets.

Third, the U.S. dollar stabilized in the foreign exchange market. The U.S. Dollar Index snapped a three-session losing streak, while the Japanese yen weakened to nearly 160 per dollar intraday, marking a fresh low for the month. The offshore Chinese yuan retreated from a three-year high and weakened toward 6.75 per dollar during the session. Meanwhile, Bitcoin approached $65,000 intraday.

Chinese equities were mixed. The Shanghai Composite rose 0.19% to 3,990.30, moving closer to the psychologically important 4,000 level, while the ChiNext Index fell 0.92% to 3,705.56. Earnings season for U.S.-listed Chinese companies also entered a busy stretch. Xiaomi reported second-quarter net profit of RMB 9.46 billion, beating expectations, while AI-related businesses accounted for more than half of Baidu's business mix.

Key Themes to Watch● Fed Minutes and Global CPI Data

The Federal Reserve is set to release the minutes from its latest monetary policy meeting, while the eurozone and the U.K. will also publish July CPI data around the same period.

These releases will give markets a clearer view of the pace of disinflation and any changes in policymakers' language regarding the future path of interest rates. If the data and Fed minutes point to more persistent inflationary pressures, the near-term reaction in the U.S. dollar and bond markets could provide an important signal for pricing across asset classes.

● Chinese ADR Earnings and the Payoff From AI Transformation

Following earnings releases from Xiaomi and Baidu, companies including Kuaishou are set to report results as the earnings season for Chinese companies moves into a more intensive phase.

Investor attention is increasingly shifting away from headline revenue growth toward the commercialization of AI and cloud businesses, as well as the quality of earnings. Companies that can successfully convert heavy investment in computing infrastructure into sustainable cash flow are more likely to emerge as winners as valuation gaps widen across the sector.

Key Events to Watch

• Kuaishou and other Chinese companies report earnings, extending the busy earnings season following Xiaomi and Baidu.

• The Federal Reserve releases the minutes from its latest monetary policy meeting.

• The eurozone and U.K. release July CPI data.

• Markets continue to monitor geopolitical developments around the Strait of Hormuz and progress in subsequent negotiations.

• Unitree Robotics moves toward a STAR Market listing, putting robotics-related stocks and new-share performance in focus.

• Investors watch for changes in foreign exchange markets and cross-border capital flows following the dollar's stabilization and the yuan's pullback.