1. Indian tech stocks slump nearly 3% after Trump imposes hefty H-1B visa fees
Indian tech stocks fell nearly 3% Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced late Friday a $100,000 visa fee for new H-1B visas, which are reserved for high-skilled foreign workers. Of the nearly 400,00 H-1B visas issued in 2024, 71% were for Indian nationals. India’s benchmark Nifty 50 was down 0.12%, while the Sensex index fell 0.48%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.76% to close at 26,344.14, while the Hang Seng Tech Index declined 0.58% to close at 6,257.91. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.99% to close at 45,493.66, while the Topix index advanced 0.49% to end the trading session at 3,163.17. The 10-year Japanese Government Bonds rose 0.67% to 1.650, the highest level since July 2007. South Korea’s Kospi index added 0.68% to close at 3,468.65, while the small-cap Kosdaq jumped 1.3% to close at 874.36.
2. S&P 500 rebounds after soft open, posts another record close with help from Nvidia
The S&P 500 reached new heights on Monday, led by a move higher in Nvidia, as a recent partnership announcement with OpenAI fuelled investor optimism about the future of artificial intelligence. The broad market index ended the day up 0.44% at 6,693.75, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 0.70% to finish at 22,788.98. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 66.27 points, or 0.14%, to settle at 46,381.54. Along with the S&P 500, the Nasdaq and Dow had hit new all-time intraday highs during the session and closed at record highs. While stocks began the trading day lower, they ultimately finished the day higher, being propped up by Nvidia and others. Shares of the AI chip darling advanced 3.9% after the company said it’s going to invest $100 billion in OpenAI for the buildout of data centres.
3. Gold scales fresh record high as markets brace for further rate cuts
Gold surged to set a fresh record high on Monday, buoyed by investors’ heightened expectations of a dovish rate-cut path, ahead of remarks by multiple Federal Reserve officials and key inflation data later in the week. Spot gold rose 1.1% to $3,723.81 per ounce after hitting a new record high of $3,726.19 earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures for December delivery climbed 1.4% to $3,758.40. Several Federal Reserve officials are slated to speak this week, with Chair Jerome Powell set to deliver remarks on Tuesday, as investors closely monitor their commentary for clues about the future direction of monetary policy. The market is also focused on the release of the U.S. core personal consumption expenditure price data on Friday for cues on the pace of further rate cuts.
4. Oil prices dip as Iraq increases exports amid demand concerns
Oil prices dipped on Monday as concerns over Russia and the Middle East were countered by oversupply jitters. Iraq, OPEC’s second-largest producer, has increased oil exports under an OPEC+ agreement, state oil marketer SOMO said. It also expects September’s exports to range from 3.4 million to 3.45 million barrels per day. Brent crude oil futures dipped 34 cents, or 0.51%, to $66.34 a barrel by 11:13 a.m. ET. Brent has traded between $65.50 and $69 a barrel since early August. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude contract for October, expiring on Monday, was at $62.40 a barrel, down 28 cents, or 0.45%.
5. Trump’s $100,000 H-1B fee sparks a global race to grab top talent
U.S. President Donald Trump’s surprise move to raise the H-1B visa application fee to $100,000 has left companies — and major economies — scrambling to make sense of the potential implications. For some global talent hubs, particularly those in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, however, experts say it could offer a valuable opportunity. As part of a push to protect American jobs, the Trump administration on Friday raised the application fee for skilled foreign workers. The proclamation, which came into effect on Sunday, requires companies to pay the fee to obtain the visas necessary for new employees entering the country. Alongside financial companies, Big Tech firms have long counted on H-1B visas to fill highly skilled roles with personnel recruited from India and China, among other countries.
6. Fed Governor Stephen Miran pushes case for central bank to slash key interest rate
Less than a week after taking his seat, Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran on Monday outlined the reasons why he thinks the central bank’s benchmark interest rate is far too high and should be lowered aggressively. Changes in tax and immigration policy along with easing rental costs, deregulation and incoming revenue for tariffs are creating a different economic landscape that allow the Fed to cut its benchmark rate by nearly 2 percentage points from its current level, the central banker said in remarks before the Economic Club of New York. “The Federal Reserve has been entrusted with the important goal of promoting price stability for the good of all American households and businesses, and I am committed to bringing inflation sustainably back to 2 percent,” he said.
7. TikTok deal won’t include ‘golden share’ or equity for U.S., Trump administration says
A preliminary deal to keep TikTok alive in the United States will not involve the federal government taking an equity stake or a “golden share” in the social media company, a senior White House official said Monday. The official confirmed that the deal will base the popular video app’s U.S. operations in the states as part of a new joint venture with a board of directors that will have a majority of American members. None of those board members will be selected by the government, the official said during a call with reporters. Tech giant Oracle will oversee its security operations, the official said. President Donald Trump will sign an executive order later this week backing the proposed deal, and once again extending the deadline when TikTok could face a U.S. ban, the White House said. When asked to clarify that the deal is finalized, an official expressed confidence that China has approved it and that it will not get hung up on any regulatory hurdles.
8. Saudi defence pact with Pakistan unlikely to disrupt oil flows to India, source says
Saudi Arabia’s new mutual defence pact with Pakistan is unlikely to alter Riyadh’s energy relationship with key consumer India, according to sources. The source, who could only speak anonymously because of the sensitivity of the matter, added that Saudi Arabia is looking to shore up its security by broadening its alliances, but not at the expense of its commercial ties. India, which has been in conflict with neighbouring Pakistan for decades, is one of the world’s largest crude consumers and a key customer for Saudi Arabia. Riyadh sold just over 600,000 barrels per day in July, making it one of India’s top three suppliers alongside Russia and Iraq, according to Kpler data. Analysts see little price impact, with WTI expected to stay near $65 over the next 6-12 months.
9. Hong Kong Inflation Edges Up to 1.1% in August
The annual inflation rate in Hong Kong edged up to 1.1% in August 2025 from 1.0% in the previous month, in line with market expectations. The increase was driven by faster price growth in transport (2.5% vs 1.4% in July), miscellaneous services (1.5% vs 0.9%), and alcoholic drinks and tobacco (1.8% vs 1.7%), as well as a smaller decline in clothing and footwear (-2.8% vs -3.4%). Meanwhile, housing (stable at 1.7%) and food (0.8%) remained steady. Conversely, the increase was partially offset by softer price growth in electricity, gas, and water (0.6% vs 0.7%), miscellaneous goods (0.1% vs 0.3%), and a further drop in durable goods (-3.1% vs -2.3%). On a month-over-month basis, consumer prices rose 0.1% in August, slowing from a 0.6% increase in July.
10. Nvidia plans to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI as part of data centre buildout
Nvidia will invest $100 billion in OpenAI as the artificial intelligence lab sets out to build hundreds of billions of dollars in data centres based around the chipmaker’s AI processors, the companies said on Monday. OpenAI plans to build and deploy Nvidia systems that require 10 gigawatts of power, the companies said on Monday. A gigawatt is a measure of power that is increasingly being used to describe the biggest clusters of AI chips. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told interviewers in San Jose, California, that the 10 gigawatts is equal to between 4 million and 5 million graphics processing units (GPUs), which is what the company will ship in total this year and “twice as much as last year.” “This is a giant project,” Huang said in the interview, alongside OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, the company’s president. Nvidia’s first investment of $10 billion will be deployed when the first gigawatt is completed, according to a person familiar with the matter.
11. Adani Power surges 20% after stock split, group shares rally on partial SEBI clearance
Shares of Adani Group companies rose sharply Monday, led by Adani Power, which surged nearly 20% after its five-for-one stock split took effect. A company generally carries out a stock split to make its shares more accessible for current and potential investors. The stock split also increases the listed company’s liquidity. The rally came after India’s market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), cleared Adani Group Friday of some allegations of stock manipulation and accounting fraud made last year by short-seller Hindenburg Research. SEBI is still looking into more than a dozen allegations against the conglomerate reportedly, citing two sources with direct knowledge of the investigations. Hindenburg’s January 2023 report accused Adani Group of large-scale fraud and stock manipulation, wiping out more than $100 billion from the conglomerate at the time.
12. MercadoLibre launches new B2B unit to tap corporate market
Latin America’s largest e-commerce platform MercadoLibre announced on Monday the launch of a new business-to-business (B2B) unit, targeting corporate clients as it seeks to expand beyond its traditional consumer market. The move positions MercadoLibre to capture a share of the B2B e-commerce market, which is estimated to be four times larger than the global business-to-consumer e-commerce market by volumes sold. The company said there are over 4 million users already enabled for wholesale purchases across Latin America since it began testing the unit a year ago. The unit is launching in Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and Chile.
13. Meta’s AI system Llama approved for use by US government agencies U.S. government agencies will be able to use Meta Platforms’ artificial intelligence system Llama, a senior administration official said, as the Trump administration pushes to integrate commercial AI tools into government operations. The General Services Administration, the government’s purchasing arm, will add Llama to its list of approved AI tools for federal agencies, said Josh Gruenbaum, the GSA’s procurement lead, in an interview ahead of announcing the initiative. Agencies will then be able to experiment with Llama, a free tool, with GSA’s assurance that it meets the government’s security and legal standards. Llama is a large language model capable of processing data, including text, video, images and audio. GSA has also signed off in recent months on AI tools from Meta’s competitors, including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Google, Anthropic and Open AI.
