Markets set for ASX opening bell

Wall Street rallies on mixed jobs data

U.S. markets closed higher on Friday after July’s jobs report missed expectations. The S&P 500 reached another record high and had its best week since April after America lost 23,000 jobs in July when economists had expected it to add 80,000. The important thing for markets was that the jobs report looked weak, but not disastrous. In other words, investors want the economy sick enough to keep the Fed away, but still healthy enough for companies to keep making plenty of money.

Related: Investors Prioritize Dividends Over Growth Relentlessly

Oil rose 1% as traders started imagining tankers moving through the strait more normally again. But there is a catch. Iran says agreeing on the route would not automatically mean reopening the strait. It also wants the US naval blockade lifted, sanctions removed, frozen assets released and compensation paid.

Corporate moves included SpaceX jumping after Argus upgraded the stock to Buy, citing the “rapid payback” from SpaceX’s massive spending on AI infrastructure. Airbnb lifted its full year revenue forecast for the second time this year, while Under Armour warned sales will fall more than expected as shoppers in several key markets keep their wallets firmly shut.

OpenAI is reportedly working on a screenless AI device shaped like a doughnut and roughly the size of a hockey puck. It will apparently have microphones, speakers, lights and moving parts, cost more than US$300 and arrive in 2027.

Related: New regulator sets single expectation standard

Berkshire Hathaway deploys cash under new CEO

Something interesting is happening at Berkshire Hathaway. New CEO Greg Abel has begun putting some of that enormous cash pile to work. Berkshire bought nearly US$20 billion worth of shares during the second quarter, and spent another US$4.5 billion buying back its own stock. That helped reduce its cash pile from roughly US$397 billion to US$365.5 billion.

A lot of investors are still sitting on large amounts of cash, waiting for the perfect time to enter the market. The problem is that the perfect time usually looks terrible while it is happening.