1. Asia-Pacific markets closed mostly higher as investors weigh Trump’s vow on fresh chip tariffs
Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose following U.S. President Donald Trump’s vow to impose a 100% tariff on imports of semiconductors and chips, but companies that are “building in the United States” will be exempted. Details such as how much a company needs to be manufacturing in the U.S. to qualify for the tariff exemption were not immediately clear. Asia-Pacific markets closed mostly higher Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 benchmark rose 0.65% to close at 41,059.15, while the Topix climbed 0.72% to 2,987,92. Over in South Korea, the Kospi index advanced 0.92% to end the day at 3,227.68, and the small-cap Kosdaq added 0.29% to close at 805.81. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was 0.69% higher at 25,081.63, while mainland China’s CSI 300 ended the day flat. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 bucked the
2.Dow closes more than 200 points lower Thursday in sharp reversal
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gave back gains and closed lower on Thursday as investors pocketed some of their profits in what’s been a solid week thus far. The 30-stock Dow fell 224.48 points, or 0.51%, closing at 43,968.64. The S&P 500 lost 0.08% and ended at 6,340.00. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.35%, ending at 21,242.70. The major averages saw sharp swings during the session, with the Dow up more than 300 points at its high and off more than 390 points at its low. Stocks initially rallied Thursday after President Donald Trump announced late Wednesday that he will impose a 100% tariff on imported semiconductor chips, though not for companies that are “building in the United States.”
3. Safe-haven gold touches 2-week peak on trade tensions, rate cut hopes
Gold rose to an over two-week high on Thursday, buoyed by safe haven demand after U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs went into effect and U.S. jobs data added to rate-cut expectations. Spot gold gained 0.5% to $3,385.07 per ounce, after hitting its highest level since July 23 earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures added 0.6% to $3,452.6. Trump’s higher tariffs on imports from a slew of countries came into effect on Thursday, leaving some trade partners like Switzerland, Brazil and India scrambling to reach a better deal. Meanwhile, the number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits ticked up to a one-month high last week, hinting at some easing in the U.S. labour market.
4. Oil edges lower on potential Trump-Putin meeting in coming days
Oil prices edged lower on Thursday, paring early gains after the Kremlin announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet U.S. President Donald Trump in the coming days, raising expectations for a diplomatic end to the war in Ukraine. Brent crude futures fell 46 cents, or 0.69%, to close at $66.43 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude lost 47 cents, or 0.73%, to settle at $63.88. Both benchmarks slid about 1% on Wednesday, touching their lowest in eight weeks, after comments from Trump on progress in talks with Moscow.
5. Dollar gains on report Waller favoured for Fed head
The U.S. dollar rose on Thursday after Bloomberg News reported that Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller is emerging as a top candidate to serve as the central bank’s chair among President Donald Trump’s team. Trump has criticized current Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whose term will end in May, as being too slow to cut interest rates and some investors are concerned that his replacement will not act independently of the Trump administration. Trump said on Tuesday he had narrowed his search for a new Fed chair to four people including economic adviser Kevin Hassett, former Fed governor and Trump supporter Kevin Warsh, and two other people. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, was last up 0.1% on the day at 98.27.
6. Russia and UAE double down on trade, testing U.S. limits
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — United Arab Emirates President Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan travelled to Russia on Thursday for his second visit to the country in less than a year, meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a sign of the ever-strengthening ties between the two states. The trip, according to Emirati state media service WAM, was focused on the two countries’ “strategic partnership” and on “ways to enhance cooperation, particularly in the economic, trade, investment, energy, and other areas that serve joint development, in addition to regional and international issues of common interest.” Russia and the UAE signed a strategic partnership in 2018, and numerous visits between their leaders have been exchanged since then.
7. Bank of England narrowly votes to cut interest rates to 4% as balancing act continues
The Bank of England voted by a fine margin to cut interest rates from 4.25% to 4% on Thursday as the central bank resumed what it describes as a “gradual and careful” approach to monetary easing. As it turned out on Thursday, the nine-member MPC voted by a majority of 5–4 to reduce the key interest rate, the “Bank Rate,” by 25 basis points rather than keeping it on hold. The British pound rose 0.5% against the dollar after the decision, to $1.3424. Policy makers have had to weigh up sticky inflation — the consumer price index (CPI) rose to a hotter-than-expected 3.6% in June from 3.4% in May — with a cooling jobs market and lackluster growth. The U.K.’s gross domestic product contracted 0.1% month-on-month in May. The voting is a reflection of the “finely balanced situation” the MPC currently faces in terms of the factors driving monetary policy, according to BOE Governor Andrew Bailey.
8. Trump’s ‘reciprocal’ tariffs come into effect, hitting dozens of U.S. trading partners
U.S. President Donald Trump’s so-called “reciprocal” tariffs took effect on Thursday, imposing higher duties on many of the country’s trading partners’ exports to the U.S. “IT’S MIDNIGHT!!! BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN TARIFFS ARE NOW FLOWING INTO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!” Trump wrote on social media platform Truth Social. Trump last week — ahead of his Aug. 1 tariffs deadline — rejigged the tariff rates and pushed back the deadline to Aug. 7. Some of the steepest duties include Syria’s 41%, and Laos and Myanmar’s 40% rate, while Switzerland — after being unsuccessful in a last-minute scramble for a deal — is facing 39% tariffs. Swiss negotiators this week travelled to Washington D.C. for talks after the country’s higher rate came as a surprise to many, but so far, no deal appears to have been agreed.
9. Bitcoin jumps as Trump is set to sign an order that allows cryptocurrencies in 401(k)s
The crypto market jumped Thursday on excitement that bitcoin and other digital assets could soon be coming to 401(k) retirement plans. President Donald Trump is set to sign an executive order that would allow 401(k) accounts to invest in alternative assets, including private equity, real estate and digital assets, sources confirmed. The price of bitcoin climbed around 1% to reclaim the $116,000 level for the first time since July 31. Ether rose almost 4%, also retaking a one-week high. Crypto-linked stocks were trading off their highs as the stock market rally fizzled in afternoon trading. Widespread inclusion of bitcoin in Americans’ retirement accounts has long been viewed as a holy grail for crypto adoption.
10. Netanyahu says Israel intends to take full control of Gaza
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he intends to take full control of Gaza, raising the prospect of an offensive lasting for several months and an open-ended Israeli occupation of the besieged Palestinian enclave. The proposal, which was being debated by Netanyahu’s security cabinet on Thursday evening, is a potential gambit to simultaneously pressure Hamas to cave to the premier’s demands over a hostage swap while placating far-right ministers in his coalition. The plan, if approved, paves the way for Israel to take over the Palestinian enclave for the second time since the 1967 war, leaving the nation in effective control of all the territories between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.
11. Intel shares drop after Trump calls for CEO to resign immediately
Intel shares slipped Thursday after President Donald Trump called for the chipmaker’s CEO to step down. In a Truth Social post, Trump said Intel Chief Executive Lip-Bu Tan “is highly CONFLICTED and must resign, immediately. There is no other solution to this problem. “Intel did not respond to a request for comment. Tan was named as Intel CEO in March as the company tried to rebound from declining sales under the stewardship of Pat Gelsinger. Intel beat revenue expectations when it reported financials for the second quarter in July, but announced several spending cuts. The company cancelled planned fab projects in Germany and Poland, and consolidated testing and assembly operations in Vietnam and Malaysia. Tan also said Intel would slow construction of a chip factory in Ohio.
12. Eli Lilly shares drop after obesity pill shows modest late-stage trial results
Eli Lilly on Thursday said the highest dose of its daily obesity pill helped patients lose almost 12% of their body weight, or roughly 27 pounds, at 72 weeks in a late-stage trial, paving the way for its entrance into the market. The pill’s weight loss was 11.2% when analysing all patients regardless of discontinuations. Shares of the company fell around 13% on Thursday. Meanwhile, shares of rival Novo Nordisk, which is also working to bring an obesity pill to the market, jumped more than 7% on Thursday. The data comes under what some Wall Street analysts were expecting for Eli Lilly’s oral GLP-1, with hopes for weight loss of around 15%. Eli Lilly is “not disappointed with these results. It’s right on thesis for us,” despite being “one or two points below what the Street had,” CEO David Ricks said. Ricks said Eli Lilly expects to submit the data to regulators by the end of the year, with hopes of launching the pill around the world “this time next year.”
13. Gilead posts flat quarterly profit, raises full-year outlook
Gilead Sciences on Thursday reported flat quarterly earnings on slightly higher revenue and raised its full-year financial outlook due largely to better-than-expected sales of HIV drugs. Adjusted earnings per share were flat from a year earlier at $2.01, and just ahead of the average analysts’ estimate of $1.97, as compiled by LSEG. Revenue rose 2% from a year earlier to $7.1 billion, which was in line analysts’ expectations. Gilead did not disclose sales of Yeztugo, a twice-yearly HIV prevention drug approved by U.S. regulators in June. Gilead said its second-quarter cell therapy sales fell 7% to $485 million due to increased competition, while sales of cancer drug Trodelvy rose 14% to $364 million. Sales of Gilead’s portfolio of liver disease treatments fell 4% to $795 million, driven mainly by lower sales of hepatitis C drugs.
14. Paramount closes $8 billion merger with Skydance after settling ’60 Minutes’ lawsuit
Paramount Global and Skydance Media have completed their $8.4 billion merger that was announced more than a year ago, the companies said, capping a long-drawn deal process marked by political scrutiny and shareholder concerns. Renamed “Paramount Skydance Corp”, the company’s Class B shares will start trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol PSKY from Thursday. The merger brings together a major player in the industry with a sprawling global distribution network and a prized film and TV library, including classics such as “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”, with Skydance’s production and technological capabilities. The company will be structured into three business segments – studios, direct-to-consumer and TV media – with Ellison emphasizing the need to expand Paramount’s technological capabilities, grow its streaming business and prioritize cash flow.
15. Peloton to cut more jobs, forecasts strong 2026 revenue; shares rise
Peloton Interactive forecast 2026 revenue above estimates and said it would cut 6% of its global workforce to boost cost savings under an ongoing turnaround effort, sending the exercise-bike maker’s shares more than 11% higher. The company also posted a surprise fourth-quarter profit on Thursday and said it will “adjust prices” to offset the impact of extra costs associated with tariffs. It expects a $65 million hit from tariffs on 2026 free cash flow, the latest U.S. company to brace for uncertainties around how the Trump administration’s changing trade policies will affect sourcing, costs and demand. The layoffs, along with plans to slash indirect costs and relocate some offices, are expected to help save an additional $100 million by the end of its next fiscal year, Peloton said. As of Thursday, the company has already actioned about half of these savings via workforce reductions and expects to realize the rest over the coming months.
16. Apple leads surge in global tech shares after Trump tariff relief
Global technology stocks advanced on Thursday in a relief rally after the latest tariff salvo from U.S. President Donald Trump largely exempted industry heavyweights from his threat to impose 100% levy on chips and semiconductors. Trump said the new tariff rate would apply to “all chips and semiconductors coming into the United States,” but would not apply to companies that had made a commitment to manufacture in the U.S. or were in the process of doing so. Apple stock rose 2%, clawing back most of its losses since the Liberation Day selloff back in April, after Trump’s announcement on Wednesday that the company will invest an additional $100 billion in the U.S., a move that could help it sidestep potential tariffs on iPhones.