Daily News 17th Aug 26
Daily News
S&P 500 Slips 0.2% but Notches Third Straight Weekly Gain; Gold Tops $4,400 as Fed Hike Odds Fade; Crude Holds Above $82 on Middle East Tensions
17 August 2026
Today in Brief
Asia-Pacific markets started the week mixed, with Japan's Nikkei 225 flat, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 down 0.23%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng up 1.4%, and mainland China's CSI 300 edging 0.13% higher, while South Korean markets were closed for a holiday. Wall Street ended a record-setting week with the S&P 500 slipping 0.2% Friday to 7,785.76 and the Nasdaq shedding 0.3% to 26,729.16, while the Dow fell 107.58 points, or 0.2%, to 53,732.41 — even so, the S&P 500 notched its third straight weekly gain of 0.4%, the Nasdaq rose 0.1% for the week, and the index had touched an intraday all-time high of 7,816.70 on Thursday. Gold rose above $4,400 an ounce Monday as soft US economic data cut the odds of a September Fed rate hike to roughly one-in-three from near 50%, while crude oil held above $82 a barrel as Middle East tensions stayed elevated following fresh Israeli strikes on Lebanon and the looming expiry of the US-Iran ceasefire.
In other news: Japan's second-quarter GDP grew 1.1% annualized, missing the 2% forecast, in the first full quarter to reflect the impact of the Iran war on energy costs; President Trump ordered the Pentagon to scale back joint military exercises with South Korea after Seoul declined to help pressure Iran toward denuclearization; Trump's envoys met Egyptian, Qatari and Turkish mediators in Cairo to advance a Gaza peace plan as Israel continued airstrikes on the enclave; Russia struck a Ukrainian steel plant while Kyiv launched a drone attack on the Moscow region, and Romania shot down a drone that breached its airspace; Nvidia is in talks to invest up to $3 billion in SoftBank's SB Energy to support OpenAI's Ohio data center project; Alibaba agreed to sell its gaming arm Lingxi Games for more than $1.5 billion as it sharpens its AI focus; Tesla plans to unveil a redesigned Roadster featuring SpaceX-developed thrusters as early as this month; and Silver Lake's potential buyout of Workday is seen restoring confidence in battered software valuations.
In Asia, markets started the week mixed
In Asia, markets started the week mixed. Japan's Nikkei 225 was flat, while Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.23%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index advanced 1.4%, and mainland China's CSI 300 edged 0.13% higher. South Korean markets were closed for a holiday. Wall Street is coming off three consecutive weeks of gains for the S&P 500, which again notched fresh all-time highs last week following a blockbuster earnings season that's buoyed investor sentiment. The stock market has continued to climb in the face of ongoing hostilities in the Middle East, as well as concerns around the artificial intelligence trade.
S&P 500 closes lower, but posts third straight weekly gain
The S&P 500 slid on Friday after a record-setting session, though the benchmark still notched its third consecutive weekly advance. The broad market index closed down 0.2% to end the day at 7,785.76, while the Nasdaq Composite shed 0.3% to 26,729.16. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 107.58 points, or 0.2%, to 53,732.41. For the week, the S&P 500 advanced 0.4%. The Nasdaq also eked out its third weekly gain in a row, ending the week higher by 0.1%. The Dow closed 0.6% lower week to date. This has been a record-setting week for the S&P 500, with the index on Thursday crossing 7,800 for the first time after hitting an intraday all-time high of 7,816.70. The benchmark also closed at a record in the prior trading day.
Gold rose above $4,400 an ounce on Monday, extending gains from the previous session
Gold rose above $4,400 an ounce on Monday, extending gains from the previous session as subdued US economic data reduced expectations for an imminent Federal Reserve interest rate hike. Data released last week pointed to tame US inflation, while consumer sentiment and retail sales weakened. Markets now see roughly a one-in-three chance of a Fed rate hike in September, down from nearly 50% before the data. Investors are now awaiting the FOMC's latest meeting minutes and Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's speech at the Jackson Hole symposium for further guidance. Meanwhile, tensions in the Middle East remain elevated after Israel launched fresh strikes on Lebanon over the weekend, while President Donald Trump is preparing new economic sanctions aimed at forcing Iran to surrender.
Crude oil traded above $82 per barrel on Monday, holding onto last week's gains
Crude oil traded above $82 per barrel on Monday, holding onto last week's gains as tensions in the Middle East remain elevated, keeping markets wary of further supply disruptions. Over the weekend, Israel launched fresh strikes on Lebanon that killed 11 people, including a senior Hezbollah commander. President Donald Trump is also preparing new economic sanctions aimed at forcing Iran to surrender, as pressure mounts on his administration to bring the military campaign to an end. The interim ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran is set to formally expire later today, while negotiations to end the conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz remain deadlocked. Meanwhile, Middle Eastern producers are covertly moving millions of barrels of crude through the waterway, helping to limit further price gains.
Japan second-quarter GDP grows 1.1% on an annualized basis, missing expectations
Japan's economy expanded 1.1% in the second quarter on an annualized basis, missing expectations for 2% growth as softer domestic demand offset strong exports. The figure was compared to the 2.1% in the previous quarter. This is the first full quarter to include the impact of the Iran war, which has brought energy prices higher for business and households. Following the data release, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.43%, while the yield on the benchmark 10-year Japanese Government Bonds was at 2.88%. The yen strengthened slightly against the dollar, trading at 159.1. Exports were the main driver of growth, with shipments from the country beating expectations for all three months of the quarter. However, this was helped by the weak yen as opposed to simply a higher volume of shipments.
Trump orders Pentagon to scale back joint exercises with South Korea
President Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon on Sunday to scale back planned joint military exercises with South Korea after the Republican president said it declined to help denuclearize Iran. Trump said in a Truth Social post that the exercises slated to begin this week are costly and "send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile" to North Korea, which he said "has been unthreatening and respectful" while Trump has been in the White House. "Therefore, and based on the fact that it is too late to cancel, I have instructed Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to substantially reduce the Joint Military Exercises!" Trump wrote. Trump added that he recently asked South Korea's president to join the U.S. in its efforts to denuclearize Iran, "and they said, 'No thanks!'" The 11 days of exercises involving 18,000 South Korean soldiers were designed to beef up readiness against North Korean threats.
Trump's envoys meet with Egyptian, Qatari and Turkish mediators in Cairo as Israel strikes Gaza
U.S. President Donald Trump's envoys met with Egyptian, Qatari and Turkish mediators in Cairo on Sunday, a diplomatic source said, aiming to advance the president's Gaza peace plan, even as Israel pressed on with airstrikes in the enclave. Hamas officials were present at some of the meetings that mediators held with Trump's envoy and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and Trump's Board of Peace envoy for Gaza, Nickolay Mladenov, the diplomat said. A senior Israeli official said Kushner and Mladenov were scheduled to meet on Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who on Aug. 9 said Trump's latest roadmap for Gaza peace was 'unacceptable.'
Russia hits steel plant in new strikes on Ukraine, Kyiv attacks Moscow region
Russia carried out a wave of airstrikes on Ukraine overnight, killing two people at a steel plant, and Kyiv launched a heavy drone attack on the Moscow region that killed one person and set ablaze a warehouse used by Russia's leading e-commerce retailer. Romania, which borders Ukraine, said an F-18 fighter on a NATO air policing mission had shot down a drone that breached its airspace during the latest attacks. It did not specify the origin of the drone, which entered from Moldova, but a NATO spokesperson said it appeared to be Russian. Russia struck Ukraine's largest grain export port on the River Danube near the Romanian border last week after stepping up attacks on Ukraine in recent weeks.
Nvidia eyes investing $3 billion in SoftBank's SB Energy under OpenAI data center deal
Nvidia is in talks to invest as much as $3 billion in SB Energy, a SoftBank subsidiary developing a massive planned Ohio data center project for OpenAI, The Information reported on Saturday, citing people familiar with the discussions. The proposed investment is part of Nvidia's talks with OpenAI and SB Energy on providing around $100 billion in credit support for the planned Ohio data center campus, the report said. Nvidia has discussed investing half of the $3 billion when the Ohio project deal is signed and the other half as part of SB Energy's planned initial public offering, according to the Information. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Nvidia and SB Energy did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside regular business hours.
Alibaba to sell gaming arm for $1.5 bln as AI focus intensifies
Alibaba Group is selling its gaming arm Lingxi Games in a deal that could value the studio at more than $1.5 billion, as the Chinese e-commerce giant sharpens its focus on artificial intelligence and cloud computing, Bloomberg News reported on Monday. Asian private equity firm Trustar Capital has agreed to acquire Lingxi Games, according to an internal memo reviewed by Bloomberg. Lingxi CEO Zhou Bingshu said Alibaba was handing over the business to allow it to focus more closely on its strategic priorities, according to the report. Alibaba is undergoing a broader restructuring under CEO Eddie Wu, divesting non-core assets while targeting $100 billion in AI revenue over five years, Bloomberg reported. The company recently released its largest AI model, claiming performance comparable to Anthropic's technology.
Tesla to unveil redesigned Roadster as early as August
Tesla plans to unveil a redesigned Roadster as early as this month, The Information reported on Friday, nearly a decade after the electric-vehicle maker first revealed a next-generation version of its original sports car. The event could include a demonstration of a limited-edition Roadster with cold-gas thrusters developed in collaboration with SpaceX, the report said, citing people familiar with the plans. The demonstration is expected to take place at SpaceX's test site in McGregor, Texas. Tesla did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Tesla originally revealed the next-generation Roadster in 2017 and said deliveries would begin in 2020, but the company has since delayed the program. The redesigned Roadster could be remotely operated during the demonstration because of the noise and force generated by its thrusters, The Information reported.
Workday buyout may restore confidence in battered software valuations, analysts say
Silver Lake's potential Workday buyout could bolster battered software valuations by showing that private equity remains confident in the industry's prospects despite fears of AI disruption, analysts and investors said on Friday. Shares of the human-resources and financial management software company soared nearly 18% on Thursday after Reuters exclusively reported about its acquisition talks with Silver Lake, which pushed its market value to more than $51 billion. The enthusiasm provided some relief to a sector hammered this year by fears that AI tools capable of generating computer code and creating applications could erode the need for software services, which have long been one of Silicon Valley's most reliable cash generators.
