🚀 Labour market cooling

Market Overview
Read time 1.4 minutes

Year To Date Performances:

1. U.S. job openings fell to 7.18 million in July, their second-lowest level since late 2020 and well below economists’ expectations, signalling a sharper cooling in the labour market. The drop, detailed in the Labour Department’s JOLTS report, echoes warnings from economists that hiring has slowed to a crawl after years of post-pandemic strength. Apart from a brief dip last fall, openings haven’t hovered this low since the early pandemic shock, raising concerns that a once-resilient jobs market is finally losing momentum. With jobless claims due Thursday and the monthly employment report Friday, investors and policymakers will be watching closely for confirmation that the slowdown is deepening.

2. OpenAI has expanded its secondary share sale to $10.3 billion, giving current and former employees a rare chance to cash out at a lofty $500 billion valuation. The deal, up from an initial $6 billion target, underscores the surging demand from investors like SoftBank, Dragoneer, Thrive Capital, Abu Dhabi’s MGX, and T. Rowe Price, even as OpenAI delays a traditional IPO. For staff who have held equity for more than two years, the sale—set to close in October—offers a payday that dwarfs last November’s $1.5 billion tender offer. Like SpaceX, Stripe, and Databricks, OpenAI is leaning on secondary transactions to reward employees while keeping its stock private, a balancing act between investor appetite and strategic independence.

3. Figma’s stock tumbled 13% in after-hours trading despite posting strong second-quarter results in its first earnings report since going public. The design software maker beat revenue expectations with $249.6 million, up 41% year-over-year, and swung to a modest net profit from a nearly $828 million loss a year earlier. Guidance for the next quarter and full year also topped analyst forecasts, with projected annual revenue surpassing $1 billion. Still, investor jitters about upcoming lock-up expirations and pressure on software valuations—particularly around AI’s role in design—seemed to outweigh the upbeat numbers. While CEO Dylan Field stressed that human creativity will remain essential even as AI makes building software easier, Figma’s 129% net retention rate, slightly down from last quarter, hinted at softening momentum.

   Headlines

   1. American Eagle shares are up 20% after a surprisingly positive earnings call.

   2. Alphabet added $230B in value overnight after avoiding a forced breakup in its antitrust case.

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