πŸ“Š Market Snapshot

  • Spot Gold (XAUUSD): 4665.89 (+1.36%), hit intraday high of 4681, safe-haven inflows continue
  • WTI Crude (USOIL): 84.94 (-1.58%), pulling back from highs, demand worries outweigh supply disruptions
  • US Market Open: Dow +0.13% (53,348), S&P 500 -0.24%, Nasdaq -0.4%, three indices diverge
  • NY Silver up ~1% to $69.7/oz, precious metals broadly higher

πŸ”₯ Key News This Hour

  • Trump escalates tariffs on Canada: from Jan 1, 2027, tariffs on all Canadian cars, trucks, auto parts and steel rise to 50%, adding “building in the US gets zero tariffs”. USD/CAD steady at 1.3826
  • Memory chip stocks slump at US open: Sandisk (SNDK) down ~6%, Micron (MU) down ~3%, weighing on the Nasdaq
  • Pinduoduo (PDD) up over 2% after Q2 adjusted profit beat
  • Alibaba (BABA) down over 1% following $10B share placement in Hong Kong
  • US Treasury may tap ~$1T in its General Account (TGA) to fund expanded government bond purchase program
  • Iranian rial weakens ~10% in two weeks; central bank chief calls it “temporary”
  • Google Cloud signs enterprise AI framework agreement with Verizon (VZ); Verizon to use Gemini for customer calls

🧭 Market Assessment

Trump’s tariff hammer hits Canada again, with auto/steel tariffs rising to 50% from 2027 β€” escalating trade friction pressures risk appetite, with S&P/Nasdaq slipping in early trade.

The Dow rises on industrial and steel strength while the Nasdaq weakens on memory chip losses β€” clear style divergence.

Gold ignores firm dollar and pushes 1.36% higher toward $4670, tariff uncertainty supporting safe-haven buying, silver following higher.

WTI falls 1.6% to $84.9 as demand concerns outweigh supply disruptions, keeping oil under pressure short-term.

⏰ Upcoming Key Data

  • Wed: US August Conference Board Consumer Confidence
  • Thu: US Q2 GDP revision, weekly jobless claims
  • Fri: US July PCE Price Index & Core PCE (Fed’s preferred inflation gauge)