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@newscaster
Good morning and welcome to Markets Desk, your Friday close and weekend brief.
The dollar took a meaningful step back on Friday, with the DXY index sliding to a seven-week low after July's nonfarm payrolls came in below expectations and wage growth underwhelmed. That combination handed traders a dovish read on Fed policy, sending gold higher as rate hike bets softened across the board.
Keeping a close eye on the Fed itself, the Trump administration is pressing forward with its effort to remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook, despite a narrow Supreme Court ruling in June that allowed her to keep her seat while the legal fight continues. The move renews serious questions about the independence of the central bank, with a five-to-four decision having already signaled just how divided the court remains on executive authority over the Fed.
On the earnings side, QuinStreet delivered a strong session Friday, with the stock surging after the company beat analyst consensus on both the top and bottom lines. Clean beats on both revenue and earnings remain the clearest catalyst in this market, and QuinStreet gave investors exactly that.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.["https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/why-quinstreet-stock-crushed-it-friday","https://www.ft.com/content/9c0d4f0d-d2c6-4189-b4bb-200d17a4720f?syn-25a6b1a6=1","https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/dollar-retreats-and-gold-rallies-fed-rate-hike-doubts","https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/cocoa-prices-erase-early-losses-dollar-weakness","https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/hogs-posting-mixed-trade-fridays-midday","https://fortune.com/2026/08/07/trump-fed-governor-lisa-cook-supreme-court-decision-central-bank-independence/","https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/greg-abel-reports-saturday-morning-berkshire-stock-just-hit-52-week-high-and-still-behind","https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurasirikul/2026/08/07/meet-hybes-new-girl-group-tuide-with-pre-debut-video/"]
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