According to the U.S. Labor Department, total jobless claims rose to 260,000 last week, having approached the highest level since November amid a shift in the U.S. labor market. The total for the week ended July 30 was, however, in line with consensus estimate but representing a gain of 6,000 from the previous week’s revised level.

Yesterday, the U.S. equity markets reversed a two-day losing streak and rebounded on strong corporate earnings and a positive report on the services sector. All but five stocks in the Dow Jones edged higher, led by Disney (DIS) and Apple (AAPL), with both shares up about 4%. Shares of the other FAAMG companies gained 2% or more. Moderna (MRNA) and PayPal (PYPL) were the top-performing stocks in the S&P 500 after both companies posted better-than-expected quarterly results and announced/reconfirmed share buyback plans. CVS Health (CVS) shares gained as the drugstore chain exceeded earnings estimates and raised its FY guidance. Ford (F) surprisingly reported a big increase in sales, and its shares rose too.

Commoditywise, crude oil futures are edging lower as the U.S. stockpiles, according to EIA, appeared to have been unchanged despite traders expected them to decline, and members of OPEC+ agreed to an increase of 100,000 barrels per day in its production target starting next month. That dragged down shares of energy companies, with Chevron (CVX) the biggest underperformer among the Dow members.

Bitcoin (BTCUSD) and most other major cryptocurrencies advanced, but Solana (SOLUSD) traded lower as almost 8,000 Solana crypto wallets were hacked by unidentified intruders who took millions of dollars worth of customer assets.

Corporatewise, Alibaba Group's (BABA) just reported its quarterly earnings according to which its revenue remained unchanged for the quarter ending June 30 compared on an annual basis at $30.69 billion. The company's net income, however, plunged by 53% to $3.03 billion, or diluted earnings per share of $0.16. Alibaba's stocks jumped nearly 5% in premarket trading following the better-than-expected earnings announcement.

Samsung Electronics Co (005935.KS) has reportedly scaled back production at its massive smartphone plant in Vietnam, as retailers and warehouses grapple with rising inventory amid a global drop in consumer spending.

In this connotation, Toyota Motor (TM) profit slumped a worse-than-expected 42% in its fiscal Q1 as the Japanese automaker was squeezed between supply constraints and rising costs. Toyota said it has repeatedly cut monthly output goals due to the global chip shortage and COVID-19 curbs on plants in China.

Tesla (TSLA) shareholders and investors are awaiting the EV maker's annual shareholder meeting this afternoon, which is due to start at 5:30 p.m. EST. TSLA shares have been on a rise before the event, which was recently rebranded as "Cyber Roundup," and will take place at the company's new Gigafactory in Austin, Texas.

Meanwhile, Just a week after Walmart (WMT) slashed its quarterly and full-year guidance, cuts are coming to the company payroll. The firm is laying off hundreds of corporate employees at divisions related to merchandising, global technology and real estate. Walmart painted the move as an effort to reorganize itself as it marks down apparel and other items that have piled up in its stores.

Elsewhere, European markets are trending higher this afternoon. As of 3:15 p.m. CET, the Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.45%, British FTSE 100 advanced by 0.49% reversing earlier losses after BoE rate decision (more below), while the French CAC 40 Index rose 0.79%, and the German DAX gained 1.03%. Across macro publications, the S&P Global Eurozone construction PMI slumped to 45.7 in July from 47.0 in June, while the UK new car registrations dropped 9% YoY to 121,162 units in July, and the country’s construction PMI declined to 48.9 in July from 52.6 in June. The S&P Global German construction PMI also went down to 43.7 in July from 45.9 in June, while factory orders in Germany fell 0.4% MoM in June. However, the S&P Global French construction PMI climbed to 48.6 from 46.4. The Bank of England just announced its decision to hike interest rates by 50 basis points, its largest one-time increase since 1995, as it tries to stem runaway inflation. The sixth consecutive increase takes borrowing costs to 1.75% and marks the first half-point hike since the Bank was made independent from the British government in 1997. The UK central bank also plans to give details on how it will reverse some $1 trillion of stimulus injected into the economy over more than a decade.

Asian markets traded mostly higher earlier this morning. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.69%, while China’s Shanghai Composite added 0.80% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index jumped 2.06%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200, however, slipped 0.01%, while India’s S&P BSE Sensex eased by 0.1%.