Dow rallies 200 points to start August, Nasdaq closes at record led by Microsoft and Apple; European stocks close higher boosted by positive manufacturing data; earnings in focus; BELEX15 down 0.28%; Serbia saw light GDP growth in June 
Stocks rose on Monday, the first trading day of August, as Wall Street tried to build on its four-month winning streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 236.08 points higher, or 0.9%, at 26,664.40. The Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.5% to an all-time high, ending the day at 10,902.80. The S&P 500 gained 0.7% to 3,294.61, its highest closing level since Feb. 21. The S&P 500 is also within 3% of reaching an all-time high. 
Shares of major tech companies led the way higher for the broader market. Microsoft gained more than 5% after confirming reports about being in talks to buy social video app TikTok in the U.S. The talks come even as President Donald Trump threatens to ban TikTok because of security concerns over its parent company’s ties to China. Apple and Netflix rose 2.5% and 2%, respectively. 

European stocks closed higher Monday at the start of another big week for corporate earnings, boosted by positive manufacturing data out of the euro zone. The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed up by 2.2% provisionally, with autos jumping 3.8% to lead gains as all sectors advanced into positive territory. It marks a strong start to August after equities in the region closed out their first negative month since March. 
Heineken pulled its interim dividend after swinging to a first-half loss, but said business had picked up since the height of worldwide lockdown measures in April. The Dutch brewer’s stock dropped 2%. 
Societe Generale on Monday posted a surprise net loss of 1.26 billion euros ($1.48 billion) for the second quarter, missing analyst expectations on the back of increased loan loss provisions due to the coronavirus pandemic. The French lender’s shares traded slightly lower. 

BELEX15 lost minor 0.28% as NIS lost 1.4%. The most active was Philip Morris, actually its priority shares, with RSD 0.6m in volume. Metalac announced that it will report its 2Q numbers on Thursday, 6th August. This will be an opportunity for investors to see what the shut down effect to overall company sales was. 
Serbia recorded a slight GDP growth of 0.1% in June, which, according to the flash estimate of the Ministry of Finance, ended the second quarter with a drop in GDP of 6.5%, which are much better results than expected, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said this Sunday, August 2. Despite the crisis, Serbia has a stable number of employees in the second quarter of this year, and compared to the same period last year, there is an increase of 1.6% – the prime minister said, adding that she encourages how the labor market behaves, since this is the greatest crisis the world remembers. 
Source: CNBC, Ilirika