Overnight Headlines 25th August 2026

Morning Pack

Tuesday 25 August 2026 • 06:47 UK • Calendar times GMT • Market data from supplied screens

Asia-Pacific

Index	Level	Net	%
Nikkei	65,746.43	+218.34	+0.33%
Shanghai	3,891.655	+9.647	+0.25%
Shenzhen	13,817.989	+23.701	+0.17%
Hang Seng	25,467.65	−49.68	−0.19%
ASX 200	9,157.90	+54.80	+0.60%
KOSPI	6,691.17	−5.79	−0.09%
STI	5,706.21	+25.75	+0.45%
NZX 50	13,992.72	+110.84	+0.80%

Top Headlines

1. Nvidia earnings awaited to set the tone for the next leg of the global AI trade Global Banking & Finance
2. US expands sanctions on Iran-linked oil trader Wellbred and affiliated firms Reuters
3. Druckenmiller calls Treasury bond-buying intervention a mistake Yahoo Finance
4. Former BOJ official says groundwork is in place for a September rate hike InvestingLive
5. Canada prepares retaliatory tariffs as US–Canada trade tensions escalate AP
6. Meta plans to launch consumer AI-agent platform “Hatch” in coming weeks Investing.com / The Information
7. Alibaba raises $10.2bn in record Hong Kong follow-on share sale Taipei Times

US Close — Monday

Index	Close	Net	%
Dow	53,417.16	+140.15	+0.26%
S&P 500	7,652.86	−21.51	−0.28%
Nasdaq	25,980.19	−200.265	−0.76%
Russell 2K	2,995.08	−22.791	−0.76%
VIX	15.85	+0.72	+4.76%

US Futures

Contract	Last	Net	%
Dow	53,484.0	−5.00	−0.01%
S&P	7,679.5	+9.75	+0.13%
Nasdaq	29,228.5	+122.75	+0.42%
Russell	3,005.4	+3.80	+0.13%

Implied open: Dow −6.16 (−0.01%); S&P +2.64 (+0.03%); Nasdaq +137.32 (+0.47%); Russell −1.68 (−0.06%).

US Treasuries

Tenor	Yield	Change
2Y	4.246%	+1.0 bp
5Y	4.417%	+0.9 bp
10Y	4.712%	+0.8 bp
30Y	5.238%	+0.7 bp

FX

Pair	Price	Net	%
EUR/USD	1.1655	−0.0007	−0.06%
GBP/USD	1.3622	−0.0008	−0.0587%
USD/JPY	159.31	+0.23	+0.14%
USD/CHF	0.8038	+0.0015	+0.187%
USD/CAD	1.3858	+0.0016	+0.12%

Commodities

Contract	Price	Net	%
WTI Oct ’26	$85.01	UNCH	UNCH
Brent Oct ’26	$92.09	−$0.08	−0.09%
Nat Gas Sep ’26	$2.740	−$0.042	−1.51%

Today’s Calendar — GMT

Time	Event	Forecast	Previous
06:00	Germany GDP (QoQ) Q2	0.2%	0.4%
06:00	Germany GDP (YoY) Q2	0.9%	0.7%
08:00	Germany Business Expectations (Aug)	87.5	86.7
08:00	Germany Current Assessment (Aug)	87.0	86.5
08:00	Germany Ifo Business Climate (Aug)	87.2	86.6
12:00	US Building Permits (Jul)	1.443M	1.374M
12:15	US ADP Employment Change — Weekly	—	9.50K
13:00	S&P/CS HPI Composite-20 n.s.a. (YoY) (Jun)	1.8%	1.6%
13:00	S&P/CS HPI Composite-20 n.s.a. (MoM) (Jun)	—	0.9%
14:00	CB Consumer Confidence (Aug)	90.3	90.8
14:00	US New Home Sales (Jul)	620K	628K
14:00	US New Home Sales (MoM) (Jul)	—	1.6%
17:00	US 2-Year Note Auction	—	4.315%
20:30	API Weekly Crude Oil Stock	1.900M	−0.328M

Morning Commentary

Asia is steadier after Monday’s weakness. Japan, Australia, Singapore and New Zealand are higher, while Hong Kong is slightly softer. The rebound is modest rather than broad-based, with markets still sensitive to rates and AI positioning.

Wall Street finished mixed and futures are also split. The Dow edged higher Monday but the Nasdaq lost 0.76%. This morning Nasdaq futures are the standout at +0.42%, while Dow futures are essentially flat as investors position ahead of Nvidia earnings and later-week inflation data.

Long-end Treasury yields remain elevated. The 10-year is 4.712% and the 30-year 5.238%, both a little higher on the session. Debate around Treasury buybacks remains active, with Druckenmiller’s criticism reinforcing the market’s focus on fiscal credibility rather than simply liquidity support.

FX is leaning toward a firmer dollar. EUR/USD and GBP/USD are softer and USD/JPY is back above 159. The yen remains vulnerable as expectations of a possible September BOJ hike compete with still-wide US–Japan rate differentials.

Oil is subdued despite geopolitical risk. WTI is unchanged around $85 while Brent is fractionally lower near $92. The market is weighing tougher US sanctions on Iran against uncertainty over their effect on actual supply flows.

Watch today: German GDP and Ifo data, US building permits and consumer confidence, the 2-year Treasury auction, Canada’s tariff response, Iran-sanctions implementation and positioning into Nvidia earnings.