Markets Eye U.S. Jobs Report and Middle East as Sentiment Holds Neutral

The trading week comes to a close with the highly anticipated U.S. July 2026 employment report. Today’s key market-moving event could provide investors with further clues about the Federal Reserve’s potential policy decisions from September onward.

Meanwhile, markets remain focused on developments in the Middle East while also keeping a close eye on the commodities sector, particularly gold, copper, and industrial metals. Overall market sentiment remains neutral to moderately positive, with volatility continuing to trade within normal levels. Futures point to a slightly negative open for U.S. equities, while European markets are expected to open modestly higher.

Financial markets sentiment

Financial markets are currently displaying a neutral/moderately positive sentiment. Intermarket analysis shows a Market Health Score of 79/100, indicating a positive overall backdrop.

There have been few significant changes across our intermarket dashboards. We continue to monitor gold’s relative strength versus the Dow Jones, the U.S. dollar, and crude oil, while the S&P 500/Nasdaq ratio remains close to its long-term moving average. Overall sentiment stays between neutral and moderately positive. At the same time, pressure on long-term U.S. Treasury bonds has yet to ease, while the Commodities/Bonds ratio continues to hold above its 50-day moving average support.

Across the major asset classes, global equities continue their attempt to re-establish an upward trend, while fixed income remains broadly range-bound. Commodities, meanwhile, are trading in a period of consolidation, compressed between their short- and medium-term moving averages.

Our Market Weather Map shows all three major geographical regions aligned in the neutral zone for equities. The U.S. dollar continues to struggle around the 50 level, while bonds and cryptocurrencies remain the weakest among the ten asset classes represented on the map.

Global Futures – Pre-Market Sentiment

Pre-Market Futures: Global equity futures indicate a moderate risk-off tone, with an average decline of 0.02%. U.S. futures are slightly lower (-0.07%), European futures are modestly higher (+0.10%), and Asian futures are slightly lower (-0.16%).

Macroeconomic calendar

Today’s macroeconomic calendar is dominated by the July 2026 U.S. labor market report. Also in focus are China’s export data, along with trade figures from France and Germany. Investors will also be watching Germany’s June 2026 industrial production release, as well as the latest update on U.S. inflation expectations.

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NOTES AND WARNINGS

Data compiled by kbmeter.com. Analysis date: 7 August 2026 - 7:46 AM GMT+1
This content is provided for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. All scores and assessments are based on the previous trading day’s closing prices. Futures indications refer to the date and time of the analysis.