PETER’S ASIAN BUSINESS & FINANCE BRIEFING – Friday 31 July 2026, 06:00 Hong Kong

• The EUR/USD currency pair rose to approximately 1.1590 during early European trading on Monday, maintaining a bullish trend above the 100-day Simple Moving Average (SMA). • Potential gains may be capped as traders increase bets on a U.S. interest rate hike following hawkish comments from Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh.

• Investors are closely monitoring the U.S. stock market as they await critical economic data this week. • The primary focus is the August jobs report, which is scheduled for release on Friday morning.

• Motilal Oswal Wealth Management Research Desk has released its top stock recommendations for the week beginning August 31, 2026. • The research desk specifically identified Titan and L&T Finance as the primary stocks to buy for investors.

• Analyst Neil Sethi outlines the key economic and equity drivers for the week of August 30, 2026, focusing on valuations, sentiment, and Federal Reserve activity. • The Q2 earnings season concludes with 10 S&P 500 components reporting, including high-market-cap firms Broadcom (AVGO) on Wednesday, as well as Dell, Medtronic (MDT), and Palo Alto Networks (PANW).

• Wall Street enters September with a heavy focus on AI spending and key economic indicators, including the August jobs report and the Federal Reserve's Beige Book. • A wave of tech earnings is scheduled, with Dell Technologies reporting Tuesday, followed by Broadcom, Snowflake, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise on Wednesday to gauge AI server demand.

• MarketBeat’s stock screener tool identified seven key financial stocks to monitor on August 27th. • The highlighted companies include major players such as Bank of America, Visa, Coinbase Global, Intuit, Robinhood Markets, Circle Internet Group, and BitMine Immersion Technologies.

• Stock markets are expected to be highly volatile in the coming week, driven primarily by the release of domestic GDP data and global economic reports. • Key indicators influencing market movement will include crude oil price fluctuations, auto sales numbers, and the trading activity of foreign investors.

• Indian equity markets are expected to be driven by seven key factors this week, including India's first-quarter GDP data and US jobs numbers. • Other critical influences include fluctuations in crude oil prices, institutional investment flows, and overall global sentiment regarding the technology sector.

• Indian equities, specifically the Sensex and Nifty, rebounded on Friday following strong gains in heavyweight IT stocks after two days of losses. • Market analysts anticipate range-bound trading for Monday, citing mixed global cues and ongoing geopolitical tensions.

• A report by Bernstein warns that India's current economic growth is driven by government policy distortions and tax incentives rather than genuine market forces. • The analysis highlights that Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes, which allocated over Rs 287 billion since FY2023, have artificially boosted profitability in the electronics and electric vehicle sectors.

• A report by Bernstein claims that India's current economic growth is being driven by policy distortions rather than pure free-market forces. • The analysis indicates that company earnings, domestic consumption, and asset valuations are increasingly influenced by tax incentives, regulatory interventions, and government transfers.

• Software company MioTech has merged with a unit of China's largest credit rating agency to create Asia's leading sustainability and analytics firm. • Founder Jason Tu stated that the strategic merger is designed to position the new entity for a public listing in Hong Kong by 2028.