Pre-market briefing August 3, 2026

Pre-Market Briefing for August 3, 2026

Today at a Glance

Briefs · earnings · signals, first Telegram · KakaoTalk channels

Previous Session Recap

Last Friday, all three major indexes on the New York exchange closed higher. The Nasdaq led with a 1.00% gain to 25,373.85, the S&P 500 added 0.70% to close at 7,489.72, and the Dow rose 0.53% to 52,485.03. Amazon surged 15.32%, lifting the consumer-discretionary sector by 3.29%, while Apple fell 7.35% and the volatility index retreated 5.68% to 16.12.

Today's Market Tone

Futures are higher across all three major indexes, with Dow futures leading at 0.56%. The moves are not large, but the direction is clearly risk-on. President Trump canceled the strike on Iran and announced a return to negotiations, sending oil prices down 5% and removing one of the inflationary pressures that had been building throughout July. As a result, expectations for a September rate hike are easing somewhat. The biggest variables today are the ISM Manufacturing Index at 11:00 p.m. Korea time and Palantir's earnings right after the close.

Pre-Market News Roundup

Today's Events

Macro Schedule

The consensus is 54, versus the prior reading of 53.3. A print above 50 signals expansion in manufacturing, so an in-line result would mean the pace of expansion is widening modestly.

The Prices Paid subcomponent deserves close attention. It stood at a high 73.0 last time, so any pullback, paired with the overnight oil-price plunge, would offer fresh evidence that inflationary pressure is easing. With the Federal Reserve having held the policy rate at 3.50%–3.75% last month while three members voted for a hike, this print could be used to reassess the odds of a September move.

Note also that the indicator cuts both ways: a meaningful downside surprise would revive growth-slowdown concerns, while a meaningful upside surprise would rekindle rate-pressure worries.

Dividend Watch

Stocks in Focus

Amazon closed last Friday at $271.57 after a 15.32% surge, punching through the upper Bollinger Band (a statistical band that frames typical price movement). Its RSI sits at 67.9, just below overbought territory, so the key question is whether a pullback follows the day after such a sharp rally.

Shell is already in overbought territory with an RSI of 72, and now faces a 5% pre-market drop in oil prices. At $91.98, how much of the energy decline it absorbs will set the temperature for the entire energy sector. With energy having led the way higher last Friday with a 1.00% gain, today it sits on the opposite side of the test.

Qualcomm has the lowest RSI in the group at 28.9 and has broken below the lower Bollinger Band. It fell 2.63% on Friday to $147.61, taking the full brunt of the semiconductor weakness that spread through Micron and SanDisk. That said, it is worth remembering that an oversold signal is not, on its own, a basis for a rebound.

Action Plan for Today

Stay measured out there, and have a good one.