Trade gains boost sentiment, payrolls disappoint

Following months of deadlines, threats and uncertainty, President Trump’s administration has secured trade concessions from key partners, including Europe, Japan and South Korea. The focus now turns to reaching an agreement with China. Markets have reacted positively to these deals, but their long-term and potentially lagged impact remains unknown. US labour market data for July disappointed, with nonfarm payrolls falling below estimates. The market had been resilient since the pandemic, but the slowdown has raised concerns that the Federal Reserve was behind the curve pre-rate cut. Read...