Stocks Steady Ahead of Jobs Report; US Retail Diesel Hits Record High | Bloomberg Brief 09/04/2026

Summary

Bloomberg Brief previews the August payrolls report and a potential Fed policy shift, covering global markets, oil and diesel prices, and individual movers. Mark Haefele discusses Fed scenarios, AI-driven growth, bond strategy, gold diversification, and the dollar. Veronica Clark previews payrolls and argues inflation data will improve enough for the Fed to consider cuts later, while DeepSeek's Huawei chip order is clarified as less negative for Nvidia than the headline suggests.

• Global markets are steady ahead of US payrolls, with Treasury yields near recent highs and oil posting strong weekly gains.
• Mark Haefele distinguishes between AI-driven growth and stagflation scenarios for Fed policy and market positioning.
• Haefele favors moving into Treasury belly/long-end bonds under a stagflation or hiking scenario and sees gold as a diversifier.
• Veronica Clark expects softer inflation data and rising unemployment to shift the Fed narrative toward possible cuts later in the year.
• Lululemon, Samsara, Volkswagen, and credit bureaus are highlighted as key individual movers with company-specific drivers.
• DeepSeek's massive Huawei chip order is described as mostly for operating data centers, with Nvidia still leading in training.
• US retail diesel prices hit a record high as Middle East conflict and political fallout keep fuel costs elevated.
• Anthropic is moving closer to an IPO filing, though the timing and tradability remain unclear.