Daily News 6th Aug 26
Daily News
Asian Tech Stocks Tumble as SK Hynix Plunges 10%; Dow Notches Record Close for Fifth Straight Day; Gold Nears $4,300 on Hormuz Shipping Deal; Crude Holds Near $75 as Iran Signals Return to Commitments
06 August 2026
Today in Brief
Asian technology stocks fell Thursday, tracking a U.S. pullback, with SK Hynix plunging 9.71%, Samsung Electronics down 6.13%, SoftBank Group off 4.36%, Kioxia down 8.84% and TSMC 1.46% lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose to a fresh all-time high on Wednesday, up 263.24 points, or 0.49%, to a record close of 54,349.12 and its fifth straight positive day, while the S&P 500 pulled back 0.17% to 7,723.55 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.83% to 26,363.44. Gold climbed toward $4,300 an ounce on Thursday, rallying nearly 6% for the week after Iran and Oman reached an agreement on a shipping corridor through the Strait of Hormuz, which also pushed crude oil to trade around $75 per barrel after three straight sessions of declines. Markets scaled back expectations for Fed rate hikes this year to just one by year-end, even as ADP data showed U.S. private-sector job growth slowed to just 44,000 in July, the weakest since January.
In other news: Iran said the U.S. was ready to "return to commitments" under the June 17 memorandum of understanding, even as Tehran denied active negotiations with Washington; the Trump administration disclosed it has refunded roughly $100 billion of the tariff revenue collected under its "liberation day" duties after courts struck them down; Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said the time has come to start gradually raising rates; progressive Democrat Abdul El-Sayed won Michigan's Democratic Senate primary over Rep. Haley Stevens, setting up a general-election matchup with former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers; Disney shares rose about 4% on an earnings beat despite a revenue miss; Perrigo stock surged 23% after blowing past earnings estimates; SpaceX shares sank 13.6% after capital expenditures jumped sixfold on AI spending; and Meta unveiled its first AI coding agent, Muse Code, to compete with Anthropic and OpenAI.
Asian tech stocks drop with SK Hynix plunging 10%
Asian technology stocks fell Thursday, tracking U.S. peers that pulled back in overnight trading, underscoring the heightened volatility in tech names globally. In Japan, SoftBank Group dropped 4.36%, while chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron was over 5% lower. Advantest lost 2.14%, and Japanese memory chipmaker Kioxia declined 8.84%. In South Korea, SK Hynix fell 9.71% and Samsung Electronics declined 6.13%. Seoul Semiconductor dropped 4.27%. Taiwan's TSMC, the world's largest contract chip manufacturer, was 1.46% lower.
Dow jumps more than 250 points for record close and fifth winning day
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose to a fresh all-time high on Wednesday, powered by strong earnings and an advance in Nvidia shares. The 30-stock index rose 263.24 points, or 0.49%, for a record close of 54,349.12 and its fifth straight positive day. The S&P 500 retreated from its new record high set earlier in the day, pulling back 0.17% to 7,723.55 as tech stocks slipped. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.83% to end at 26,363.44. Wednesday's move ended a four-day winning streak for the S&P 500.
Gold climbed toward $4,300 an ounce on Thursday, rising for the fourth straight session
Gold climbed toward $4,300 an ounce on Thursday, rising for the fourth straight session and rallying nearly 6% so far this week as a deal to partially reopen the Strait of Hormuz pushed oil prices lower, easing concerns over inflation and the outlook for interest rates. Iran and Oman reached an agreement on a shipping corridor through the strait, boosting expectations of increased energy flows from the Middle East. Markets scaled back expectations for Federal Reserve interest rate hikes this year, now pricing in just one increase by year-end, compared with two as recently as last week. Meanwhile, ADP data showed the US economy added only 44,000 private-sector jobs in July, the weakest reading since January and well below forecasts for 70,000.
Crude oil traded around $75 per barrel on Thursday after sliding for three straight sessions
Crude oil traded around $75 per barrel on Thursday after sliding for three straight sessions, as Iran and Oman reached an agreement on a shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz, fuelling expectations of increased energy flows from the Middle East. A joint statement from both countries is currently under review and in the final drafting stage, with the proposed route expected to remain operational for two to four months, although Tehran stressed that the agreement does not amount to a full reopening of the strategic waterway. Meanwhile, US officials continued to express confidence that a deal with Iran was nearing, though investors remained cautious about the durability of any lasting peace in the region. Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen also claimed they had targeted a Saudi oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden and threatened other vessels in the Red Sea, underscoring ongoing risks to regional shipping.
U.S. ready to return to 'commitments,' Iran says, after Trump signals deal is near
Iran said the U.S. was ready to "return to commitments," while denying that negotiations were ongoing with Washington, after President Donald Trump signalled a deal was in the making. Iran Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibadadi made those comments in an interview with state broadcaster IRNA on Wednesday, without elaborating on the said commitments, likely referring to the interim understanding reached in June. Under the memorandum of understanding signed on June 17 between the U.S. and Iran, Tehran was supposed to allow commercial vessels to transit the Strait of Hormuz with no charge for 60 days. In return, Washington had committed to lifting its naval blockade of Iranian ships, among other things.
Trump admin refunds $100 billion in 'liberation day' tariffs
The Trump administration said it has refunded about $100 billion of the tariff revenue that was collected before President Donald Trump's "liberation day" duties were struck down by the Supreme Court. The figure, reported Tuesday in a filing in the U.S. Court of International Trade, represents about 60% of the roughly $166 billion the government says it raked in from the sweeping tariffs Trump imposed in 2025 using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA. Those tariffs were scrapped in late February after the high court ruled IEEPA did not authorize them. About two weeks later, federal Judge Richard Eaton ordered that tariffs collected under IEEPA must be refunded to the importers. Trump, who placed heavy-handed tariffs at the centre of his economic and foreign policy agendas, has vented his rage over the court rulings, and his administration has recently taken a series of steps to effectively re-create the IEEPA tariff regime using other legal authorities.
Fed's Kashkari says 'now is the time to start slowly moving' rates up
Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari said Wednesday that he thinks higher interest rates are needed now to bring down inflation and avoid more drastic increases later. In a CNBC interview, the central bank official called for a gradual approach that could start in September, though he did not commit to a timetable. Kashkari was one of three dissenters at last week's Federal Open Market Committee meeting who wanted a quarter percentage point rate hike. However, the other nine voters disagreed, voting to hold the benchmark funds rate in a range between 3.5%-3.75%.
Abdul El-Sayed wins Michigan Democratic Senate primary as voters pivot to the left
Abdul El-Sayed, the progressive, anti-establishment Democrat running for Senate in Michigan, defeated Rep. Haley Stevens in one of the most closely watched and impactful primary elections of the 2026 midterm election. El-Sayed beat Stevens by 1 percentage point as The Associated Press called the race Wednesday morning with 99% of votes counted. El-Sayed had captured 48.5% of the votes to Stevens' 47.5%. Mallory McMorrow, who had suspended her campaign a month before the primary, received 4% of the votes. The results set up El-Sayed to face former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers in the general election this November. El-Sayed challenged Rogers to five debates him to five debates in his victory speech Wednesday morning. "We took on a machine," El-Sayed said in the speech. "What we showed is that the power of our many is greater than the power of their money."
Disney earnings beat lifts shares despite revenue miss
Walt Disney Co shares rose around 4% on Wednesday after the entertainment giant reported third-quarter adjusted earnings that exceeded Wall Street expectations, though revenue came in slightly below estimates. The company posted adjusted earnings per share of $2.06 for the third quarter, beating the analyst consensus of $1.86 by $0.20. Revenue reached $25.25 billion, up 7% YoY from $23.7 billion, but fell short of the $25.43 billion analyst estimate. Total segment operating income surged 21% to $5.6 billion from $4.6 billion in the prior-year quarter. The stock gained ground following the earnings release, with investors focusing on the strong profit performance and raised share buyback target.
Perrigo earnings beat by $0.16, revenue topped estimates
Perrigo stock surged 23% on Wednesday after the company reported second-quarter 2026 results that significantly exceeded analyst expectations, with all-in adjusted diluted EPS of $0.50 and core adjusted EPS of $0.46, blowing past the Wall Street consensus of $0.34 per share. Revenue of approximately $1.02 billion also edged ahead of the $1.01 billion estimate, representing a swing to profitability that investors had not fully anticipated given the stock's steep decline over the prior year. The earnings beat was powered by aggressive cost savings and operational discipline under the company's Three-S strategic framework — aimed at stabilizing, streamlining, and strengthening the business — even as core net sales fell roughly 3.1% year-over-year, pressured by retailer destocking, softer consumer demand, and the impact of the completed Derma cosmetics divestiture.
SpaceX stock falls 13% as AI spending surge rattles investors and massive share unlock looms
SpaceX shares sank 13.6% on Wednesday after a surge in artificial intelligence spending rattled investors and clouded an otherwise expectation-beating quarter. In SpaceX's first earnings report as a public company on Tuesday, Elon Musk's space firm said its capital expenditures jumped sixfold to $18.4 billion in the second quarter. This figure was ahead of analyst expectations, with the majority of the spending going toward AI. The company's stock closed at just over $125 on Tuesday, sitting below its $135 initial public offering price. It is well off its more than $200 all-time high that was hit shortly after it began trading on June 12. Investors have been on edge this earnings season as concerns rise about whether large tech companies can prove their multibillion-dollar investments are yielding returns.
Meta debuts first AI coding agent to take on Anthropic and OpenAI
Meta is rolling out its first coding agent called Muse Code as the company tries to challenge leading AI labs Anthropic and OpenAI. Muse Code is latest major release from AI chief Alexandr Wang, who leads Meta Superintelligence Labs and oversees foundation model development. Wang joined in June of last year as the centrepiece of CEO Mark Zuckerberg's effort to revamp his company's flailing artificial intelligence strategy. "You can install it with one command and then use it to take on complete software engineering tasks across a wide variety of use cases, planning changes, writing code, validating the results," Wang said in an interview on Wednesday. The new coding agent represents another way Zuckerberg aims to generate revenue from AI as his company continues investing heavily into data centres and related computing infrastructure.
