Quick overview
- Tuesday’s earnings slate features major companies like AMD, SpaceX, Caterpillar, and McDonald’s, with investors keen on guidance and demand trends.
- U.S. stocks rallied at the start of August, led by tech stocks, as falling Treasury yields and lower oil prices boosted investor sentiment.
- Oil prices dropped sharply, easing inflation fears and contributing to a bullish tone on Wall Street.
- Investors are expected to focus on forward guidance and demand trends rather than just earnings beats in the upcoming reports.
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Today brings an earnings slate led by Advanced Micro Devices, SpaceX, Caterpillar, HSBC, McDonald’s, BP and Spotify, with investors watching closely for guidance and signs of changing demand.
Tech Stocks Lead the Advance
U.S. stocks kicked off August with a strong rally as investors embraced renewed risk appetite. The S&P 500 gained 1.50%, while the Nasdaq climbed 2.13%, supported by falling Treasury yields, lower oil prices and strong buying in large-cap technology.
Meta surged 6.02%, Microsoft gained 4.93%, Alphabet rose 4.88%, Amazon advanced 4.58%, Tesla added 3.49%, and Nvidia climbed 2.93%. Apple was the lone major laggard, falling 1.78%.
Fed Maintains Its Stance
New York Fed President John Williams said July’s interest-rate decision left policy “well positioned” to return inflation toward the Fed’s 2% target. He reiterated the central bank’s commitment to price stability.
Oil Prices Fall Sharply
WTI crude dropped 5.56% to $79.96 as immediate Middle East supply disruption concerns eased. Lower oil prices helped reduce inflation fears and supported the decline in Treasury yields, further strengthening the bullish tone across Wall Street.
Earnings Calendar Highlight Tuesday
Tuesday’s earnings calendar offers a broad cross-section of the market, from AI and semiconductors to industrials, banking, consumer spending, energy and streaming.
AMD and SpaceX are likely to attract the most attention because of their enormous valuations and exposure to high-growth technology themes. AMD’s report could be particularly important for semiconductor sentiment following recent concerns about whether AI infrastructure spending can remain at its current pace.
Meanwhile, Caterpillar and McDonald’s could provide useful signals on industrial activity and consumer demand, while HSBC and BP offer insight into financial and energy-market conditions. Spotify rounds out the session with another important test of growth expectations in the digital economy.
Space Exploration Technologies (SPCX) – Q2 2026 Earnings
- Timing: After Market Close (AMC)
- Estimated EPS: -$0.29
- Market Cap: Approximately $1.43 trillion
- SpaceX will attract considerable attention given its enormous valuation and expectations surrounding its growth trajectory.
- The reported loss will be closely examined against revenue growth, operating performance and future expansion plans.
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) – Q2 2026 Earnings
- Timing: After Market Close (AMC)
- Estimated EPS: $1.61
- Market Cap: Approximately $776.41 billion
- AMD is arguably one of the most important semiconductor reports of the week.
- Investors will focus heavily on data-center demand, chip sales, margins and forward guidance.
- With AMD trading at a high valuation, even a strong quarter may not be enough if management provides disappointing expectations.
Caterpillar (CAT) – Q2 2026 Earnings
- Timing: Before Market Open (BMO)
- Estimated EPS: $6.20
- Market Cap: Approximately $382.31 billion
- Caterpillar’s results could provide an important signal about global industrial demand.
- Investors will watch equipment sales, order backlogs, pricing, margins and demand from construction, mining and infrastructure customers.
- Management’s outlook could also offer clues about the health of the broader global economy.
HSBC Holdings (HSBC) – Q2 2026 Earnings
- Timing: Before Market Open (BMO)
- Estimated EPS: $2.33
- Market Cap: Approximately $369.92 billion
- HSBC’s earnings will provide another important look at global banking conditions.
- Investors are likely to focus on net interest income, loan growth, credit quality and the impact of changing interest-rate expectations.
- Guidance on costs, capital allocation and shareholder returns could also influence the stock’s reaction.
McDonald’s (MCD) – Q2 2026 Earnings
- Timing: Before Market Open (BMO)
- Estimated EPS: $3.32
- Market Cap: Approximately $188.45 billion
- McDonald’s results will provide insight into global consumer spending and the performance of the fast-food sector.
- Investors will pay close attention to comparable-store sales, traffic, pricing and international performance.
- Any evidence that consumers are becoming more cautious could weigh on the outlook, while stronger traffic and sales could reinforce confidence in the company’s defensive qualities.
BP (BP) – Q2 2026 Earnings
- Timing: Before Market Open (BMO)
- Estimated EPS: $1.78
- Market Cap: Approximately $113.98 billion
- BP’s results arrive as crude oil markets remain highly sensitive to geopolitical developments and expectations for global supply.
- Investors will focus on earnings, free cash flow, production, refining performance and shareholder returns.
- Commentary on oil prices and capital spending could be particularly important given the volatility in energy markets.
Spotify Technology (SPOT) – Q2 2026 Earnings
- Timing: Before Market Open (BMO)
- Estimated EPS: $2.80
- Market Cap: Approximately $100 billion
- Spotify will provide an important update on the global streaming market.
- Investors will focus on subscriber growth, advertising revenue, engagement, pricing and margins.
- With the company now commanding a much larger valuation, expectations for continued user and profit growth are also becoming increasingly demanding.
Overall, investors will likely focus less on whether companies simply beat estimates and more on forward guidance, margins, demand trends and management commentary. With expectations elevated across several of these names, even strong earnings could produce a muted reaction if future guidance fails to match the market’s increasingly ambitious forecasts.
Gold Getting Squeezed Close to the $4,000 Level
Gold prices experienced a volatile trading week, ultimately finishing significantly lower after an initially strong rally lost momentum. The precious metal climbed above $4,300 early in the week but later reversed sharply, ending nearly $100 below its recent highs as investors reassessed the outlook for interest rates and global risk sentiment.
The decline was largely driven by a stronger U.S. dollar, rising Treasury yields, and reduced demand for defensive assets following positive geopolitical developments in the Middle East. Despite the weakness, gold remains above the critical $4,000 support zone, which continues to define the longer-term bullish trend but it is under attack.
USD/JPY Dives Below the 100 SMA
Foreign exchange markets saw sharp swings. Early in the week, U.S. yield differentials and Japanese capital outflows pushed the dollar above ¥150, but disappointing U.S. jobs data triggered profit-taking, causing the USD/JPY to slide by four yen from its peak. However, the new BOJ governor the JPY has weakened and USD/JPY soared to 154 and we decided to close our buy signal for more than 80 pips as the pair found support at the 20 daily SMA (gray) and has rebounded more than 200 pips off that MA but reversed after the 25 bps rate cut from the FED. The price climbed to $164 but reversed after the BOJ meeting and fell 7 cents, breaking below the 100 daily SMA (red) as well, which has been acting as support before.
USD/JPY – Daily Chart
Cryptocurrency Update
The 50 Daily SMA Holds as Support for Bitcoin
Cryptocurrencies remained highly active over the summer. Bitcoin (BTC) climbed to fresh highs of $123,000 and $124,000 in July and August, supported by institutional inflows and technical strength. However, remarks from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent ruling out U.S. increases to BTC reserves triggered a steep pullback, sending the coin down to $80K before finding support at the 100 weekly SMA (green). A rebound followed, sending BTC near $100 is the first major text for Bitcoin buyers. However BTC returned lower and fell below $80K, breaking below the but the 100 weekly SMA (green) but the decline stopped at the $60K support where the 200 weekly SMA (purple) stands and rebounded above $76K but returned below $70K again.
BTC/USD – Daily Chart
Ethereum Returns Toward $2,000
Ethereum (ETH) has been similarly strong, surging toward $4,800, its highest since 2021 and near its all-time peak of $4,860. Despite a dip last week, ETH found support at the 20-day SMA, with retail enthusiasm and renewed institutional participation driving fresh upside momentum. Last week we saw a dive below $2,000 but buyers returned and pushed the price above $2K again.
ETH/USD – Weekly Chart
Skerdian Meta
Lead Analyst
Skerdian Meta Lead Analyst.
Skerdian is a professional Forex trader and a market analyst. He has been actively engaged in market analysis for the past 11 years. Before becoming our head analyst, Skerdian served as a trader and market analyst in Saxo Bank’s local branch, Aksioner. Skerdian specialized in experimenting with developing models and hands-on trading. Skerdian has a masters degree in finance and investment.