US stock pre-market briefing: Fed's "third-in-command" says monetary policy will not be held hostage by markets

2026-08-03 12:39

Odaily News Ahead of the US stock market open, here are the key market and financial news investors need to watch:

1. The three major US stock index futures edged higher. Dow Jones futures rose 1.12%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.55%, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.13%.

2. International oil prices fell sharply. WTI crude oil futures dropped 6.75% to $78.951 per barrel; Brent crude oil futures dropped 5.75% to $82.875 per barrel.

3. International spot gold and silver traded in a narrow range. Spot gold rose 0.05% to $4,048.39 per ounce; spot silver fell 0.17% to $57.53 per ounce.

4. Most of Europe's three major indices rose. The UK FTSE 100 fell 0.08%, France's CAC40 rose 1.20%, and Germany's DAX30 rose 1.28%.

5. Renowned journalist Mark Gurman reported that Apple is currently facing shortages of memory chips and main device processors, which will definitely lead to price increases this year. The iPhone is expected to rise in price by $100 to $200. As for the foldable iPhone, he said its starting price will be at least $2,000, or even higher.

6. Alibaba released its new-generation foundational model Qwen3.8, with a total of 2.4 trillion parameters, showing significant improvements in coding and professional office capabilities. Alibaba shares rose nearly 4% in pre-market trading.

7. Samsung Electronics' foundry business division is expected to achieve 100% capacity utilization within the second half of this year. Currently, utilization is estimated to be between 70% and 80%.

8. AstraZeneca is reportedly considering a merger with US competitor Bristol Myers Squibb, which could result in a combined market value of $400 billion.

9. JPMorgan strategists believe that as market performance broadens across more sectors, tech stocks or AI-related stocks are unlikely to be the main drivers of market returns in the second half of the year.

10. New York Fed President Williams expressed optimism about easing inflation, stating that the current monetary policy stance is "in a good position" and that monetary policy will not be held hostage by markets.