Daily News 13th Aug 26
Daily News
Kospi Surges Over 4%, S&P 500 Closes Higher on Tame CPI; Gold Holds Above $4,400 Near Ten-Week Highs; Crude Slips Toward $82 as Hormuz Standoff Drags On
13 August 2026
Today in Brief
South Korea's Kospi rose over 4% in Asia trading, with Japan's Nikkei 225 adding 1.58%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng up 0.18%, and mainland China's CSI 300 up 0.56%, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.34%. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 climbed 0.26% to 7,748.50 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.54% to 26,588.49 on tame July inflation data and AI-driven tech gains, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.04% to 53,770.27; headline CPI rose 0.1% for the month with the annual rate at 3.4%, and core CPI advanced 0.2% for a 2.5% annual reading. Gold held above $4,400 an ounce, near ten-week highs, as easing inflation reduced near-term pressure for a Fed rate move, while crude oil fell toward $82 per barrel, snapping a five-day advance, as investors weighed the prospects of reopening the Strait of Hormuz amid deadlocked US-Iran talks.
In other news: Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority disputed President Trump's claims of "total control" over the Strait of Hormuz, with ship traffic near a three-month low; Japan's wholesale inflation eased to 7.2%, undershooting expectations; Saudi Arabia ramped up oil exports through a Mediterranean pipeline to sidestep Red Sea attacks; Norway's $2.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund posted a record $184 billion half-year profit and disclosed a SpaceX stake for the first time; Meta and a coalition of 29 states headed to trial in California over youth social media litigation; a GM-LG battery cell plant in Ohio prepared to restart production after a seven-month shutdown; and Eli Lilly filed six lawsuits against companies accused of illegally selling its experimental obesity drug retatrutide.
In Asia, South Korea's Kospi rose over 4%
In Asia, South Korea's Kospi rose over 4%. Japan's Nikkei 225 added 1.58%, while Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.34%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 0.18%, and mainland China's CSI 300 was up 0.56%. The July reading of the U.S. producer price index, which gauges what wholesalers pay for raw goods and materials, is set for release Thursday at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect an increase of 0.2% from the prior month.
S&P 500 closes higher after tame consumer inflation report, tech sector rises
The S&P 500 rose on Wednesday on the back of a tame U.S. inflation report and tech gains led by artificial intelligence plays CoreWeave and Super Micro Computer. The broad market index climbed 0.26% to end at 7,748.50, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.54% to close at 26,588.49. The Dow Jones Industrial Average settled at 53,770.27, slipping 0.04%, or 21.58 points, on the day. July's consumer price index came in as expected, with headline rising 0.1% on the month and the annual inflation rate landing at 3.4%. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, advanced 0.2% last month and 2.5% on the year. The annual rate for both headline and core CPI marked a slight decrease from June.
Gold held above $4,400 an ounce on Thursday, hovering near ten-week highs
Gold held above $4,400 an ounce on Thursday, hovering near ten-week highs as relatively stable US consumer inflation reduced pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates in the near term. Data released Wednesday showed US consumer inflation slowed for a second consecutive month to 3.4% in July, while rising just 0.1% from the previous month. Investors now await producer inflation data due later in the global day for further clues on the trajectory of price pressures. Markets now see around a 40% chance of a 25 basis point rate hike from the Fed in September, down from nearly 50% a day earlier. Gold also drew support from a pullback in oil prices as investors assessed the prospects of a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. However, escalating rhetoric between the US and Iran amid deadlocked negotiations reduced the likelihood of an imminent agreement.
Crude oil fell toward $82 per barrel on Thursday, snapping a five-day advance
Crude oil fell toward $82 per barrel on Thursday, snapping a five-day advance as investors assessed the prospects of any deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. President Donald Trump said the US had "total control" over the waterway amid escalating rhetoric between Washington and Tehran, with negotiations remaining deadlocked. The Trump administration is also moving toward imposing greater economic pressure on Iran as the US military campaign has so far failed to force the regime to capitulate. The measures include expanding economic sanctions and enforcing a naval blockade aimed at curbing Iranian oil exports. Meanwhile, the IEA's monthly report indicated that the global oil market faces a shortfall of 1.8 million barrels a day this quarter as the conflict in the Middle East continues.
'Hormuz remains blocked': Iran disputes Trump claims as traffic sinks to near 3-month lows
Iranian authorities have pushed back on U.S. President Donald Trump's repeated claims that Washington has "total control" over the Strait of Hormuz. On Wednesday stateside, Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority said in a post on X that "Claims and repeated posts by U.S. officials that the Strait of Hormuz is no longer blocked do not change the reality: the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked and will not be reopened until Iran's conditions are accepted." Trump had said in a Truth Social post earlier that "The U.S.A. has total control over the Strait of Hormuz. I THINK WE WILL KEEP IT!" While both sides continue to make contradictory claims, data from trade intelligence firm Kpler showed that ship traffic through the Hormuz waterway is near a 3-month low.
Japan wholesale inflation eases slightly to 7.2%, undershooting expectations
Producer price growth in Japan eased slightly to 7.2% year on year in July, missing analysts' expectations, official data released Thursday showed. The reading compared with the 7.4% expected by economists polled by Reuters, and was down from a revised 7.3% seen in June. Electricity prices were the largest contributor to the producer price index in July, adding 0.23 percentage point to the increase compared to June. This was partly offset by a drop in prices in energy and chemicals. Japan has been grappling with higher energy prices that have also led to steeper overall imported inflation for businesses, with higher dollar payments further pressuring the yen. The yen based import price index climbed 29.1% in July, compared to a 30.1% rise in June, a sign that the yen's weakness continues to push up import costs.
Saudi Arabia ramps up oil exports through Mediterranean pipeline to avoid attacks in Red Sea
Saudi Arabia has surged oil exports through a pipeline that stretches across Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea, as Riyadh looks for alternatives to the Red Sea since Iran's Houthi allies declared a maritime embargo of the kingdom. Oil exports from Egypt's Mediterranean port of Sidi Kerir have more than doubled to about 2.3 million barrels per day in August compared to around 1 million bpd last month, according to data provided by the trade intelligence firm Kpler. The majority of those exports are Saudi crude, said Matt Smith, director of commodity research at Kpler. "This isn't a short-term decision," Smith said. "This is a distinct change in strategy or dynamics." Sidi Kerir is connected by a pipeline, called the Sumed, to the Red Sea port of Ain Sokhna. Fully loaded supertankers sit too deep in the water to transit the Suez Canal. They pump half the Saudi oil cargo into the pipeline at Ain Sokhna, transit the canal, and reload the oil at Sidi Kerir, Smith said.
Consumer prices rose 0.1% in July, as expected, putting the annual rate at 3.4%
A key inflation reading Wednesday showed prices moderating across a range of goods and services, possibly taking the urgency out of an imminent interest rate hike. The consumer price index, part of the Federal Reserve's inflation dashboard, showed a seasonally adjusted increase of 0.1% during July, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Excluding food and energy, the so-called core CPI rose 0.2%. On an annual basis, the inflation rates were 3.4% and 2.5%, both down 0.1 percentage point from June. All of the readings were line with the Dow Jones consensus forecasts.
World's largest sovereign wealth fund posts record $184 billion profit as it reveals SpaceX stake for the first time
Norway's $2.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund reported a record half-year profit of more than $184 billion on Wednesday, as a rally in Asian technology stocks helped the fund return 9.4%. Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) manages the fund, which was set up in the 1990s to invest revenues from the country's oil and gas industry. The fund — currently valued at around $2.34 trillion — is an investor in more than 7,000 companies across more than 50 countries and has stakes in around 1.5% of the world's publicly listed stocks. Its profit for the first six months of the year came in at more than 1.75 trillion Norwegian kroner, or around $184.9 billion. "The result is driven by good returns in the equity market, particularly from Asian technology stocks," Nicolai Tangen, CEO of NBIM, said in a statement on Wednesday.
Meta, 29 states head to court in biggest test yet of youth social media litigation
Meta Platforms will face a coalition of state attorneys general in a California federal court trial beginning on Wednesday over claims it engineered Facebook and Instagram to be addictive to children, a case that could expose the company to massive damages and force it to make sweeping changes to its platforms. The trial in Oakland, expected to last seven weeks, will test Colorado, Kentucky, California and New Jersey's allegations that Meta designed its platforms to keep young users hooked and misled consumers about their safety. It will also address claims by 29 states that the company illegally collected and used children's data in violation of federal law. Jury selection is on Wednesday, with opening statements slated to begin August 18. Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected to testify, as is Instagram head Adam Mosseri.
Battery cell production at Ohio plant to restart for GM EVs
A factory jointly owned by General Motors and LG Energy Solution in northeast Ohio is scheduled to restart production of battery cells next week after a seven-month shutdown. On Monday, a majority of laid-off workers will resume making batteries at the Ultium Cells joint-venture plant, Tom Gallagher, vice president of operations for Ultium, said in an interview. In total, 1,400 will be working at the facility. The company ceased battery-cell production there in January because of a drop in consumer demand for electric vehicles. The other GM and LG JV plant, in Tennessee, now makes energy storage system batteries instead of EV batteries. Earlier this week, battery manufacturer Samsung SDI purchased GM's stake in the joint venture the companies had formed to make EV battery cells at an under-construction Indiana plant.
Lilly sues six companies over alleged illegal sales of experimental obesity drug retatrutide
Eli Lilly on Wednesday said it had filed six lawsuits against U.S. companies it accuses of illegally selling black-market versions of its experimental obesity drug retatrutide, escalating its campaign against unauthorized sellers before the medicine has won regulatory approval. The Indianapolis-based drugmaker said the lawsuits target a range of businesses, including compounding pharmacies, medical spas and online sellers that allegedly marketed retatrutide products to consumers despite the drug remaining under clinical development. Retatrutide is still in Phase 3 clinical trials for obesity, type 2 diabetes and other related conditions. No regulators have approved the compound for human use, Lilly said.
