- Asian Stocks Fluctuate as Nvidia Earnings Awaited: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — Asian shares moved in narrow ranges after tech giants dragged down Wall Street, as focus
shifted from the Federal Reserve’s policy outlook to Nvidia Corp.’s earnings later this week. Japanese and
South Korean stocks turned slightly higher after earlier losses, with mild gains in Australia. - Dow closes at record high, while tech stocks drag down S&P and Nasdaq
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a record high on Monday as investors tried to move on from a
steep sell-off earlier this month. The 30-stock index closed up 65.44 points, or 0.16%, at 41,240.52. Earlier in
the day, it climbed more than 200 points, or 0.6%, to set a new intraday record, then pulled back from that
level. The S&P 500 slipped 0.32% to 5,616.84, while the Nasdaq Composite sank 0.85% to end the day at
17,725.76. - Oil prices pause after surging on Libyan outages, Middle East tensions
Oil prices paused their recent advances, receding in Asian trading on Tuesday after surging more than 7% in
the previous three sessions on supply concerns prompted by fears of a wider Middle East conflict and the
shutdown of Libyan oil fields. Brent crude futures fell 32 cents, or 0.39%, to $81.11 a barrel at 0154 GMT,
while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 36 cents, or 0.46%, to $77.06 a barrel. Oil markets are
retracing slightly after sharp gains in the previous three sessions driven by expectations of U.S. interest rate
cuts that could boost fuel demand, military assaults between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon over the
weekend that threaten a wider Middle East conflict potentially disrupting supply from the key producing
region and the Libyan closures. Over that period, WTI gained 7.6% and Brent gained 7%. - Gold nears record high on U.S. rate-cut optimism, geopolitical risks
Gold prices firmed on Monday, nearing its recent record high, amid solid bets of a September interest-rate
cut following dovish signals from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and safe-haven demand due to
geopolitical risks in the Middle East. Spot gold rose 0.3% to $2,518.47 per ounce, just shy of the record high
of $2,531.60 hit last week. U.S. gold futures settled 0.3% higher at $2,555.20. - Ex-Goldman Banker Plans to ‘Massively’ Scale Steyer Venture
(Bloomberg) — Joseph Sumberg, a former managing director at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., is betting his
career on the idea that climate change is about to turn the real estate market on its head. Since late 2022,
Sumberg has been working with billionaire investor Tom Steyer to build strategies around the unique
challenges facing real estate as the planet heats up. - Mideast Remains on Edge Despite Lull After Israel Bombed Lebanon
(Bloomberg) — Despite a day of relative calm in the skies over Israel and Lebanon, tensions remained high Monday over the prospect that a regional war could erupt after Israel mounted what it called a preemptive strike that took out thousands of Hezbollah missile launchers. - Fed Cuts May Send $1 Trillion FX ‘Avalanche’ to China, Jen Says
(Bloomberg) — Chinese companies may be enticed to sell a $1 trillion pile of dollar-denominated assets as the
US cuts interest rates, a move which could strengthen the yuan by up to 10%, according to Stephen Jen. The
chief executive of Eurizon SLJ Capital said currency is now the biggest risk that’s not priced in properly across
markets. - Trump Blames Harris for Afghan Exit Three Years After Attack
Republican Donald Trump blamed Democratic 2024 rival Kamala Harris alongside President Joe Biden for the
chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan and said he would demand the immediate resignation of any
officials in the government involved with that decision. Caused by Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, the humiliation
in Afghanistan set off the collapse of American credibility and respect all around the world, Trump said
Monday in an address to the National Guard Association conference in Detroit, seeking to tie the Democratic
nominee to one of the biggest foreign policy disasters of Biden’s administration. - Canada imposes a 100% tariff on imports of Chinese-made electric vehicles, matching the U.S.
Canada’s government on Monday announced it is imposing a 100% tariff on imports of Chinese-made electric
vehicles that matches U.S. tariffs and follows similar plans announced by the European Commission. The
announcement followed encouragement by U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan during a meeting with
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and cabinet ministers on Sunday. Sullivan is set to make his first visit
to Beijing on Tuesday. Trudeau said Canada also will impose a 25% tariff on Chinese steel and aluminum. - Japan Leadership Race Picks Up With Kono Declaring Candidacy
(Bloomberg) — A political maverick now serving as Japan’s minister for digital transformation became the
third lawmaker to enter the race for the next prime minister, calling for fiscal restraint and highlighting his
experience in various cabinet roles. Kono Taro, who has also served as foreign minister and defense minister,
made the announcement Monday. - Chinese Military Plane Enters Japan Airspace for First Time
(Bloomberg) — Japan scrambled fighter jets to warn off a Chinese military aircraft that briefly entered Japanese territorial airspace Monday, in the first such incursion of its kind. A Chinese Y-9 intelligence-gathering aircraft entered Japanese airspace for two minutes from 11:29 a.m. local time near the Danjo islands, off the southernmost main island of Kyushu. - SpaceX Delays Launch of First-Ever Private Spacewalk Mission
(Bloomberg) — SpaceX has delayed the launch of a rocket carrying four private astronauts to space, part of a groundbreaking mission aimed at performing the world’s first commercial spacewalk. The launch, initially scheduled for early Tuesday morning, was scrubbed to check a ground-side helium leak, one of SpaceX’s two lead engineers, Sarah Gillis, said in a post on X. - Temasek’s Private Credit Arm Raises $1.3 Billion for New Fund
(Bloomberg) — A unit of Singapore’s state-owned investor Temasek Holdings Pte. has raised $1.3 billion for its
second private credit fund, in a sign that Asia’s fledgling direct lending industry remains attractive to
investors hungry for yield and asset diversification. - LG Electronics Weighs India IPO to Help Chase $75 Billion Goal
(Bloomberg) — LG Electronics Inc. is considering an initial public offering for its India business, tapping a
booming stock market to help hit a target of $75 billion in electronics revenue by 2030. Chief Executive Officer William Cho said an Indian market debut is one of several options it’s weighing to revitalize a decades-old consumer electronics business. - Paramount Is Said to Explore Sale of 12 Local TV Stations
(Bloomberg) — Paramount Global is moving ahead with asset disposals to raise cash, people familiar with the
matter said, amid the ongoing takeover saga involving the media company. The CBS parent has hired a bank
to help it explore options, including a potential sale of a dozen TV stations that it considers non-core, the
people said. - Elliott Ups Stake in Southwest Air, Advancing Overhaul Push
(Bloomberg) — Elliott Investment Management has increased its equity stake in Southwest Airlines Co. to
9.7%, nearing the amount needed to call a special shareholder meeting at which the activist hopes to replace
most of the carrier’s board. - Market Chatter: Eli Lilly’s Alzheimer’s Drug Expected to be Rejected by UK Health Watchdog
Eli Lilly’s (LLY.SW) Alzheimer’s disease drug donanemab is expected to be definitely rejected for use by the
National Health Service, The Telegraph reported Aug. 23, citing insiders. - PDD Holdings Inc.’s shares tumbled 28.5%, the most on record, after Temu’s owner warned that revenue growth will inevitably dwindle, highlighting the challenges of sustaining its pace of expansion against aggressive rivals like ByteDance
Co-founder Chen Lei repeatedly stressed that PDD’s current trajectory wasn’t sustainable, at a time competitors such as ByteDance’s TikTok and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. are vying for budget-conscious shoppers. The company has spent big on e-commerce business Temu to drive its global presence and escape an ailing Chinese economy. But executives have kept a lid on the overseas unit’s performance as competition turns cutthroat. On Monday, Chen said PDD needed to invest more in supporting merchants, at a time rivals are trying to woo them away. Competition is here to stay and is expected to intensify in our industry, Chen told analysts during a post-results briefing. High revenue growth is not sustainable, and a downward trend in profitability is inevitable. The Chinese-owned e-commerce platform reported revenue of 97.1 billion yuan ($13.6 billion) for the June quarter, missing the average estimate of 100 billion yuan. Net income came to 32 billion yuan, compared to a projected 27.5 billion yuan. - Boeing Co/The
Shares fell 0.8% after NASA announced Saturday it will turn to SpaceX to bring back two astronauts from the
International Space Station. Boeing has said its Starliner was safe for the astronauts to fly home in case of an
emergency, despite multiple delays to the return. NASA said its risk evaluation was different to that of
Boeing’s. - Tesla
Tesla Inc. shares fell 3.23% as the automotive company extended further its 5-year “zero-percent” financing
option it made available to Chinese buyers for new Model 3 and Model Y purchases till the end of the third
quarter. - PetroChina posts record earnings for first half of the year
PetroChina Co. posted record operating profits for the first half of the year on the back of strong drilling
output and higher oil prices, which allowed it to offset weak fuel demand in China. China’s largest oil and gas
company posted a net income of 88.61 billion yuan ($12.44 billion) for the six months through June, climbing
3.9% compared to the same period last year. The company’s total revenue climbed 5% to 1.554 trillion yuan
for the reporting period. - Exxon still expects fossil fuels to make up the majority of energy market in 25 years
Oil demand will plateau after 2030 but remain roughly at current levels of more than 100 million barrels per
day through 2050, according to Exxon. The oil major projected that oil demand would remain at 85 million
barrels per day in 2050 even if every new car sold in 2035 is an electric vehicle. - Xpeng
Xpeng (XPEV UN) shares rose 7.1% as the Chinese electric-car maker said its CEO He Xiaopeng had purchased 1m Class A shares of the company in the open market at an average of HK$27.13 each, in a filing to HKEX.
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