South Korea's KOSPI fell more than 5% this week, recording a seventh consecutive weekly decline — its longest losing streak since December 2022.

Swiss July consumer confidence index due in 10 minutes.

Bank of England analysis finds AI development and adoption have raised productivity in UK firms while reducing employment. Software and IT consulting firms’ contribution to annual productivity growth has increased tenfold versus the pre‑pandemic decade, adding 0.1 percentage point to productivity in 2023–25. Information service providers shifted from a drag to a positive contributor over the same period. AI adopters show rising productivity particularly in office administration and business services, where repetitive tasks (scheduling, invoicing) are prone to automation. Vacancies in occupations most exposed to AI fell 15% over the past three years; medium‑exposure occupations fell 10% and low‑exposure 6%. Customer service and administrative vacancies declined by more than 20%.