Overnight Headlines 14th August 2026

 

Morning Pack — Friday 14 August 2026

Market levels from supplied screenshots around 05:40–05:56 UK time. Calendar times are GMT.

Asia-Pacific

Index	Price	Net	%
Nikkei 225	68,693.94	+385.35	+0.56%
Shanghai	3,918.654	-8.311	-0.21%
Shenzhen	14,300.464	+11.021	+0.08%
Hang Seng	25,160.25	-236.26	-0.93%
ASX 200	9,102.20	-86.30	-0.94%
KOSPI	6,938.68	+125.34	+1.84%
STI	5,724.91	+4.86	+0.08%

U.S. Cash Close

Index	Close	Net	%
Dow Jones	53,839.99	+69.72	+0.13%
Nasdaq Composite	26,803.025	+214.537	+0.81%
S&P 500	7,798.99	+50.49	+0.65%
Russell 2000	3,052.847	+7.364	+0.24%
VIX	14.63	+0.08	+0.55%

U.S. Futures

Future	Last	Day	%	Implied
Dow	53,966.0	+31.00	+0.06%	+36.01 (+0.07%)
S&P 500	7,824.0	+1.50	+0.02%	+0.01 (+0.00%)
Nasdaq	30,155.75	-32.75	-0.11%	-8.75 (-0.03%)
Russell 2000	3,058.4	-1.80	-0.06%	-4.45 (-0.15%)

U.S. Treasuries

Maturity	Yield	Change
2-Year	4.154%	+1.4 bp
5-Year	4.327%	+1.4 bp
10-Year	4.655%	+1.4 bp
30-Year	5.223%	+1.2 bp

Thursday's 30-year auction cleared at 5.216%; bid-to-cover 2.39.

FX

Pair	Price	Net	%
USD/JPY	159.34	-0.14	-0.0878%
EUR/USD	1.1539	+0.0012	+0.1041%
GBP/USD	1.3496	+0.0011	+0.08%
EUR/GBP	0.8549	+0.0002	+0.02%
USD/CNH	6.7438	+0.0010	+0.01%
USD/CAD	1.3918	-0.0012	-0.0861%

Commodities

Contract	Price	Net	%
WTI Sep-26	$81.36	+0.11	+0.14%
Brent Oct-26	$87.11	+0.04	+0.05%
Natural Gas Sep-26	2.750	+0.023	+0.84%
RBOB Sep-26	3.1087	-0.0193	-0.62%

Key Headlines

Trump launches tariffs targeting Chinese drone technology — FT

Trump announces drone tariffs to bolster U.S. supply chains and counter China — WSJ

US sells 30-year bonds at highest borrowing costs since 2001 — FT

U.S. sending fresh aircraft carrier to Middle East amid Iran war strain — WSJ

Fitch affirms the United States at AA+ with stable outlook — Fitch

Applied Materials posts Q3 revenue of $9.12bn and adjusted EPS of $3.50 — Applied Materials

Stock futures little changed after the S&P 500 closed above 7,800 — CNBC

South Korea's KOSPI extends its powerful comeback — CNBC

Economic Calendar — GMT

Time	Event	Forecast	Previous
09:00	Eurozone GDP (YoY) Q2 P	1.0%	0.3%
09:00	Eurozone GDP (QoQ) Q2 P	0.4%	-0.2%
09:00	Eurozone Trade Balance (Jun)	-2.2B	-7.8B
11:00	UK NIESR Monthly GDP Tracker (Jul)	—	0.4%
12:30	US Core Retail Sales (MoM) (Jul)	0.2%	-0.2%
12:30	US Retail Control (MoM) (Jul)	0.3%	0.5%
12:30	US Retail Sales (MoM) (Jul)	0.1%	0.2%
14:00	US Business Inventories (MoM) (Jun)	0.2%	0.3%
14:00	Michigan Consumer Expectations (Aug P)	55.2	55.4
14:00	Michigan Consumer Sentiment (Aug P)	54.4	55.2
14:00	Retail Inventories ex Auto (Jun)	—	-0.2%
15:30	Atlanta Fed GDPNow (Q3)	5.8%	5.8%

Morning Commentary

Asia is mixed, with Japan and South Korea outperforming. The Nikkei is up 0.56% and the KOSPI 1.84%, while Hong Kong and Australia are both down close to 1%. U.S. equities finished Thursday higher, led by the Nasdaq at +0.81%, while the S&P 500 closed just under 7,800.

Treasury yields are edging higher across the curve. The 2-, 5- and 10-year yields are each up about 1.4bp, while the 30-year sits at 5.223% after Thursday's auction cleared above 5.2% — the highest borrowing cost at a 30-year sale since 2001.

The dollar is softer against the euro and sterling, while USD/JPY remains elevated around 159.3. Oil is little changed after recent volatility, with WTI around $81.36 and Brent $87.11.

Today's principal macro risk is U.S. retail sales at 12:30 GMT, followed by University of Michigan sentiment at 14:00 GMT. A strong retail-sales print would reinforce the tension between resilient growth and still-elevated long-end yields.