Market News

Gold is seeing a modest bounce back up in European morning trade, after falling to around $4,335 at the tail end of Asia trading. The past few hours is seeing gold push back up to around $4,367 currently but buyers were dealt a bit of a blow in trading yesterday.

That after seeing price fall back below both the 100-hour (red line) and 200-hour (blue line) moving averages:

In seeing that break, the near-term bias has now switched to being more bearish for gold. However, that is not to say that buyers are down for the count just yet.

The latest rebound shows that dip-buying appetite is still present, with some minor support also seen closer to the $4,313-17 region. I would be more convinced of a renewed break to the downside if buyers fail to…

• July final CPI +2.9% vs +2.9% y/y prelim
• Prior +2.8%
• July final core CPI +2.5% vs +2.5% y/y prelim
• Prior +2.4%

This just confirms that inflation pressures in the euro area did pick up a little in July, keeping ECB policymakers on their toes ahead of the September decision next month.

The breakdown on headline inflation contribution is as such:

• Services +1.55%
• Energy +0.94%
• Non-energy industrial goods +0.23%
• Food, alcohol, and tobacco +0.23%

As a whole, there were mostly increases in all broad categories of inflation. Services inflation was seen up to 3.3% in July compared to 3.2% in June. Meanwhile, energy price inflation pushed up to 10.3% in July compared to 8.5% in June. It is only food price inflation that eased slightly to 1.2% in July…

•  Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 2.95%, Shanghai Composite down 2.07% Hang Seng up 0.22% ASX down 0.19%
• Commodities : Gold at $4,400.15 (-0.46%) Silver at $62.932 (-1.70%), Brent Oil at 91.54 (0.56%), WTI Oil at 84.59 (0.63%)
• Rates : US 10-year yield at 4.684, UK 10-year yield at 5.0860, Germany 10-year yield at 3.2610

• (USD)   Industrial Production m/m
•   0.2%  to 0.3%  expected

U.S. stock futures were near flat early Wednesday after Wall Street’s major averages fell for a third consecutive session, pressured by a global bond selloff and higher oil prices.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 46 points, while S&P 500 futures slipped 0.1% and Nasdaq 100…

IC – Europe Fundamental Forecast | 19 August 2026

What happened in the Asia session?

The Asia session was dominated less by a major surprise in economic data and more by risk-off sentiment, rising oil prices, and elevated global bond yields. Australia’s wage data was broadly neutral because both quarterly and annual growth matched expectations, leaving AUD/USD and RBA expectations relatively stable. The strongest market reaction came from renewed U.S.–Iran/Hormuz tensions, pushing Brent above $91 and WTI toward $85, while higher yields and a renewed semiconductor/AI selloff pressured Asian equities, particularly the KOSPI and Nikkei.

What does it mean for the Europe & US sessions?

Markets enter the European and U.S. sessions with…

US Stocks Extend Declines as Middle East Concerns Persist

US equity markets came under further pressure in trading yesterday as ongoing concerns surrounding the Middle East continued to weigh on risk appetite. The Dow Jones fell 0.22% to close at 53,434, while the S&P 500 declined 0.69% to 7,691. The technology-heavy Nasdaq again underperformed, falling 1.33% to 26,289.

US Treasury yields edged lower off recent record highs, with the 2-year yield falling 0.5 basis points to 4.171% and the benchmark 10-year yield declining 1.8 basis points to 4.704%. The US Dollar regained some ground against the major currencies, with the US Dollar Index rising 0.07% to 99.65.

Oil prices continued to push higher as uncertainty surrounding the…

IC – Asia Fundamental Forecast | 19 August 2026

What happened in the U.S. session?

The U.S. session produced a risk-off environment. The housing data showed a softer U.S. economy, while falling import prices provided a modestly dovish inflation signal. However, those factors were overwhelmed by higher oil prices and surging long-term Treasury yields, driven by renewed U.S.-Iran tensions, inflation concerns and fiscal/debt worries. For forex and commodities traders, oil, USD pairs, U.S. yields, gold and equity indices were the instruments most sensitive to the overnight headlines. Traders will now turn their attention to the FOMC minutes, scheduled for August 19, which could provide additional clues about the Fed’s rate path.

What does it…