Asian stocks were poised for a mainly positive open Thursday as investors continued to ramp up bets that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next month. Meantime, Bloomberg Economics says China's July activity data due Friday will likely show signs growth softened heading into the second half, echoing early indications in business surveys and tracking its full-year outlook. We get more on the state of China's economy from Helen Zhu, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer at NF Trinity.

Plus - stocks have soared to record levels and volatility has slumped to multi-year lows as traders now fully expect a quarter-point move by the Fed after an inflation print earlier this week was seen as benign. External pressure is also coming from President Donald Trump's administration with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent making his most explicit demand yet for the central bank to execute a cycle of cuts. We discuss what the Fed's path ahead may look like with Ross Mayfield, Investment Strategist at Baird Private Wealth Management.

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