A great start for US stocks to the month of August. Gains in heA technical look the technicals driving the large cap tech stocksTrump: Talks are going on now. This is the last chance (again).European indices (san UK FTSE 100) closed solidly higher on the day.Atlanta Fed GDPNow growth estimate rises to 6.2% from 5% previouslyTrump: Iran is unbelievably duplicitousUS Construction Spending for June -0.1% vs 0.2% estimateUS ISM Manufacturing PMI for July 55.6 versus 54.0 estimateS&P Global Manufacturing PMI Final for July 53.9 vs 53.8 preliminaryUS has made a concession to Iran on Hormuz but Iran won't open until the war is overWH NEC Kevin Hassett: US inflation numbers have been fantasticinvestingLive European markets wrap: Oil holds lower despite Iran refuting Trump claimsFed's Williams remains optimistic inflation pressures will gradually ease; Fed policy "well positioned"U.S. stocks kicked off August with a strong rally as investors embraced a renewed risk-on tone. The S&P 500 gained 1.50%, while the Nasdaq climbed 2.13%, helped by falling Treasury yields, sharply lower oil prices, and another wave of buying in large-cap technology. Investors also reacted positively to the latest ISM Manufacturing report, which showed the factory sector continuing to expand. The headline index rose to 55.6, well above the 54.0 consensus estimate and up from 53.3 in June, marking the strongest reading in more than four years. New Orders remained firmly in expansion at 56.7, while the Employment Index jumped to 52.8 from 49.7, returning to expansion for the first time in 33 months and reaching its highest level since August 2022. The Prices Paid index eased to 71.1 from 73.0, but remained elevated, underscoring that inflation pressures within the manufacturing sector remain persistent.New York Fed President John Williams reinforced the Federal Reserve's current policy stance, saying the July decision left interest rates "well positioned" to return inflation to the Fed's 2% target. He stressed that the Fed remains fully committed to price stability and will act if inflation fails to move sustainably back toward target, while expressing confidence that inflation pressures should continue to ease over time. Williams acknowledged uncertainty stemming from the Middle East conflict but expects any inflationary impact to moderate. On market expectations, he emphasized that while the Fed closely watches market pricing because it provides valuable information, policymakers are not obligated to validate or follow those expectations. Overall, the comments were consistent with Williams' typically centrist approach, offering no new policy signal and leaving future decisions dependent on incoming economic data and evolving geopolitical developments.Technology stocks once again led the advance as investors rotated back into the AI leaders. Meta surged 6.02%, Microsoft climbed 4.93%, Alphabet rose 4.88%, Amazon gained 4.58%, Tesla advanced 3.49%, and Nvidia added 2.93%. Apple was the lone Mag 7 laggard, falling 1.78% as investors continued to digest last week's earnings report and outlook.The bond market added another tailwind for equities as Treasury yields moved lower across the curve, easing valuation pressures on growth stocks. The 2-year yield fell 5.1 basis points to 4.239%, the 5-year declined 7.2 basis points to 4.387%, the 10-year dropped 6.7 basis points to 4.667%, and the 30-year eased 4.7 basis points to 5.227%. The decline in yields gave investors added confidence to rotate back into higher-growth sectors, particularly technology.Energy markets also supported the bullish tone. WTI crude oil tumbled 5.56% to $79.96 as concerns over an immediate disruption to Middle East oil supplies eased. The sharp decline in crude helped temper inflation concerns and reinforced the move lower in Treasury yields.In the foreign exchange market, the U.S. dollar finished mostly higher. The greenback gained 0.61% against the Australian dollar, 0.54% versus the New Zealand dollar, 0.35% against the British pound, 0.30% versus the Swiss franc, 0.26% against the euro, and 0.10% against the Canadian dollar. The lone exception was the Japanese yen, where the dollar fell 0.28%, making the yen the strongest-performing major currency on the day.Overall, investors looked past lingering geopolitical uncertainty and instead focused on a combination of better-than-expected ISM manufacturing data, improving manufacturing employment, easing Treasury yields, sharply lower oil prices, and renewed leadership from AI and large-cap technology. With the manufacturing sector showing its strongest hiring conditions in nearly three years and earnings season continuing, the market's attention now shifts toward upcoming corporate results and Friday's U.S. employment report for the next major macro catalyst. Stop it This article was written by Greg Michalowski at investinglive.com.