SQUAWK BOX, THURSDAY 1ST AUGUST, 2019

Will it be 'one and done'? U.S. stocks drop sharply as the Federal Reserve cuts rates by a quarter point for the first time since 2008. However, Chairman Jerome Powell suggests that this may not be the start of more easing to come, calling it a ‘mid-cycle’ move. The dollar jumps and the yield curve flattens on the news, but President Trump voices his disapproval of the decision. Bank earnings are also in focus. Standard Chartered beats H1 profits estimates but warns of trade tensions and lower interest rates on the horizon, while Societe Generale’s second-quarter net profit is hit by restructuring costs. Elsewhere on the corporate front, Siemens warns of weakness in some of its key markets, after third-quarter profits fall, missing expectations.