WS #13605

The dominant market narrative is the weak July US jobs report, which showed a loss of 23,000 jobs versus expectations of +83,000, with downward revisions of 103,000 for May and June. This has sharply reduced the probability of a September Fed rate hike (from 55% to 44% per CME FedWatch) and is driving stocks higher and yields lower. BlackRock's Rick Rieder explicitly stated the report likely takes a rate hike off the table, corroborating the dovish repricing. This is a high-significance macro development with broad market implications. Separately, a federal appeals court blocked Trump's $400M White House ballroom project, a political setback but with limited direct market impact. In single-stock news, SpaceX (SPCX) surged 11% after Argus upgraded to Buy, citing AI investments, while Cloudflare (NET) gapped up on multiple analyst PT raises following strong Q2 results. Cassidy's support for Blanche's AG confirmation is political noise with no direct market impact. The Strait of Hormuz situation remains a watch item with ADNOC confirming attacks on tankers, but no new escalation beyond prior de-escalation narrative.