Asia’s Rally Faces a New York Acceptance Test — Market Pulse for July 31, 2026

Asia handed New York a green tape. London handed it a test.

Japan’s Nikkei surged 4.03% after the Bank of Japan held its overnight rate near 1.0%, while one policymaker dissented in favor of 1.25%. Shanghai added 0.72% and Hong Kong finished only 0.10% higher. That is an important distinction: Asia delivered risk appetite, but not a uniform global breakout.

London initially extended the move. By 9:27 a.m. ET, however, ES had backed away from 7,517.75, NQ had pulled off 28,640.75, and the major European indexes were positive but well below their intraday highs. The handoff into the final New York session of July is therefore constructive—but unconfirmed.

That is today’s real setup. The question is not whether futures are green. The question is whether New York accepts the overnight advance once cash liquidity, month-end positioning, and the final morning data arrive.

What Asia and London actually changed

The overnight session built higher equity value. NQ advanced from 28,317 at the futures reopen to 28,488.25 by the start of London, while ES moved from 7,479.50 to 7,496.50. London then pushed both contracts to fresh session highs before some of that enthusiasm faded into the U.S. open.

The leadership underneath the move is split.

Amazon reported 20% year-over-year sales growth, with AWS revenue up 37%—its fastest growth in 18 quarters. The stock was indicated higher before the bell. Apple also beat headline earnings and revenue expectations, but its shares were indicated lower. For NQ traders, that divergence matters more than either headline by itself: the index has a powerful cloud and AI tailwind, but it does not have clean, one-directional mega-cap participation.

The macro tape is applying its own pressure. The Employment Cost Index rose 0.9% in the second quarter, with wages and