3 August 2026 | Weekly Snapshot
Saward Dawson > Wealth Advisory Insights > Weekly Snapshot > 3 August 2026
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The Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games closed on Sunday, with Australia topping the medal table on 104 medals, ahead of Canada and England. But behind the podium finishes, this year’s Games told a quieter story about institutional relevance. Glasgow 2026 was the smallest Commonwealth Games in three decades — just 10 sports across four venues and roughly 3,000 athletes, down from 19 sports and 4,822 athletes at Birmingham 2022. Ticket sales were soft and UK television viewership for the opening ceremony came in at roughly 950,000, down 82% from Birmingham 2022’s 5.2 million and a fraction of Glasgow’s own 2014 edition, which drew 9.4 million.
Market Movements
Markets had a mixed week. The ASX All Ords slipped 0.4% to 8,942 and is now down 0.9% for the year, a sharp contrast to the S&P 500’s 8.3% year-to-date gain and the NASDAQ’s 7.5%, even though the NASDAQ fell 2.1% this week on a rough patch for AI-capex-exposed names. In Europe, the STOXX 50 added 0.9%; Japan’s Nikkei jumped 2.6%; the UK’s FTSE and India’s SENSEX both fell around 2%.
Energy was the standout ASX sector, up 4.0% for the week and now the best performer year-to-date at +31.7% — consistent with oil’s 8.5% surge to US$96.78 as the Strait of Hormuz situation remains unresolved (crude is now up 59.1% for the year). Resources also had a strong week (+2.5%), while Technology (-5.0%) and Healthcare (-5.3%) both had a poor week, extending painful CYTD declines of -16.8% and -25.2% respectively. Consumer Discretionary fell 4.8% for the week.
On the company front, Viva Energy was the standout, surging 16.8% (39.0% CYTD) after flagging first-half EBITDA of $770-780 million — more than double the prior year — as Hormuz-related disruption drove Geelong refining margins to US$21.10/barrel versus US$8.20 a year earlier. Whitehaven Coal fell 9.9% despite delivering full-year production and costs at the top end of guidance, as thermal coal price weakness continued to weigh. Lynas Rare Earths fell 5.3% for the week but remains up 13.3% for the year.
In the US, it was a genuinely split week for Big Tech earnings. Amazon jumped 17.4% after AWS grew 37% year-on-year — its fastest pace in 18 quarters — with revenue crossing $200 billion for the first time and EPS of $1.97 beating the $1.82 consensus. Microsoft surged after Azure hit $100 billion in annual revenue for the first time (43% growth in the quarter alone), with EPS of $4.74 well ahead of the $4.24 expected. Meta was the outlier — despite 28% revenue growth to $60.8 billion (beating consensus), EPS of $6.18 missed by roughly 14% on a $2.4 billion legal charge and higher severance costs, and shares fell nearly 10% after-hours as the market balked at a capex guidance raise to $130-145 billion with no matching demand justification. Micron fell 10.6% this week but remains up a staggering 188.4% for the year on the memory/AI-chip super-cycle. Hyperscale capex was upgraded in FY27 relative to where the market consensus was poisoned before the results.
Gold ticked up 1.4% to US$4,067/oz but is down 6.0% for the year as the pullback from April’s US$5,595 peak continues. Copper was flat at US$13,617/tonne; natural gas fell 8.9%. The Australian dollar slipped 2.1% to US$0.70 (still up 4.8% for the year).
On rates, the RBA held at 4.10% while Australian 10-year bond yields pushed up to 5.02% — the highest in years, and worth watching given the read-through to property and equity valuations. The Fed held at 3.60%, with the US 10-year yield up 4.0% to 4.68%. Reporting season in the US remains very strong: 27% of S&P 500 companies have now reported, 86% with a positive EPS surprise, and blended year-over-year earnings growth is running at an extraordinary 37.9%, well ahead of the 23.2% expected coming in.
Portfolio Movements
Hyperscaler results generally strong
- Amazon (AMZN) — Q2 revenue of $200.6bn (+20% YoY) topped the $196.5bn consensus, with AWS at $42.2bn versus $40.5bn expected. CEO Andy Jassy said AWS is “booming,” noting the business is growing at its fastest pace since 2021 even as full-year capex guidance was lifted to $220bn.
- Microsoft (MSFT) — Q4 FY26 revenue of $90.0bn (+18% YoY) and EPS of $4.74 both beat consensus ($87.6bn / $4.24). Azure grew 43% in the quarter, pushing annual Azure revenue past $100bn for the first time; Copilot surpassed 30 million paid seats.
- Meta (META) — Q2 revenue of $60.8bn (+28% YoY) beat the ~$60.2bn consensus, but EPS of $6.18 missed the ~$7.22 estimate by roughly 14%, weighed down by a $2.4bn legal charge. CFO Susan Li flagged that ongoing litigation “may ultimately result in a material loss.”
Apple beats on revenue and EPS but Services miss and soft guidance weighs
- Apple (held) reported Q3 results with revenue of $109.4 billion up 16% year on year, ahead of the roughly $108 billion expected; diluted EPS of $2.02 rose 29%, aided by an $0.11 tariff-refund benefit.
- iPhone revenue of $54.3 billion beat estimates, but Services revenue of $30.7 billion missed the roughly $31.2 billion expected, and Greater China revenue also came in below forecasts.
- Shares are 6% lower in after-hours trading but the stock has had a strong run, with Apple flagged FX headwinds and supply constraints weighing on September-quarter guidance.
LVMH H1 profit beats – Returns to fashion growth
- Leading global luxury retailer LVMH (held) first half results showed net profit was flat at €5.70 billion, but ahead of the €5.22 billion analyst consensus, on revenue of €38.64 billion, down 3% reported but up 2% organically.
- Q2 organic growth accelerated to 3%, with Fashion and Leather Goods returning to organic growth for the first time in two years, against an easy comparison from a 9% decline in the same period last year.
- Watches and Jewellery led segment growth, driven by Tiffany and Bulgari, while operating margin held at 22.5%; management flagged tougher H2 comparisons ahead and a roughly €1 billion currency headwind to full-year EBIT.
The Week Ahead
- Monday 4 August – China Caixin Manufacturing PMI: prior 50.6. US ISM Manufacturing PMI: prior 49.0 (still in contraction territory).
- Tuesday 4 August – RBA cash rate decision: expected to hold at 4.10%, following June’s cooler-than-expected CPI print (headline 3.8% YoY, trimmed mean 3.6% YoY).
- Wednesday 5 August – China Caixin Services PMI: prior 50.6.
- Thursday 6 August – Australian trade balance. Eurozone retail sales.
- Friday 7 August – US Nonfarm Payrolls: June’s shockingly weak +57K print (vs. ~110-114K consensus) drove the unemployment rate down to 4.2% on falling participation rather than genuine hiring strength — markets will be watching closely for a July rebound or confirmation of a genuine labour-market slowdown.
Saward Dawson Wealth Advisors Pty Ltd, a Corporate Authorised Representative of Akambo Pty Ltd t/a Accountants Private Advice
The information presented in this publication is general information only, and is not intended to be financial product advice. It has not been prepared taking into account your investment objectives, financial situation or needs, and should not be used as the basis for making an investment decision. Before making any investment decision you need to consider (with your financial adviser) your particular investment needs, objectives and financial circumstances.
Some numerical figures in this publication have been subject to rounding adjustments. Akambo Pty Ltd (including any of its directors, officers or employees) will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of any reliance on this information. The market commentary reflect Akambo Pty Ltd’s views and beliefs at the time of preparation, which are subject to change without notice.
