π° Hourly Briefing | 2026-08-25 22:00 CST
Apple unveils M6, its first 2nm chip, along with the quad-die M5 Ultra and new Mac mini/Mac Studio; crude takes a sharp hit with WTI down nearly 3% and SC crude down over 4%; US stocks open higher with storage names rebounding and the dollar slipping to 98.9.
π Market Snapshot
- Spot Gold (XAUUSD): 4618.21, -0.72%. Opened high and sold off; intraday range 4696.74β4605.41, still holding above 4600.
- WTI Crude (USOIL): 82.04, -2.97%. Continued sharp decline from above 85; SC crude main contract fell over 4%, LSFO down 6%.
- US indices opened higher: Dow +0.19%, S&P 500 +0.36%, Nasdaq +0.65%; storage names rebounded, SanDisk/SK Hynix up ~3%.
- Dollar index: slipped ~10 pips on the day, last at 98.9.
π₯ Key News This Hour
- Apple debuts 2nm chip: Unveiled M6, its first 2nm chip, plus the quad-die M5 Ultra, alongside new Mac mini and Mac Studio. M5 Ultra packs up to 512GB unified memory with 1.2TB/s bandwidth; Mac Studio available for preorder today, shipping September 22.
- Crude complex rout: WTI down nearly 3%, SC crude main contract down over 4%, LSFO and fuel oil down over 6%, asphalt off nearly 2%.
- Trump attacks Canada’s trade barriers: Says Canada has been “ripping off” the US for decades, imposing tariffs as high as 400% on US farm products and squeezing American firms out of the market.
- New Iran negotiation moves: Pakistan will relay Iran’s conditions and position to the US; Iran’s conditions include restoring the memorandum of understanding on the Strait of Hormuz.
- Ma Yun keeps buying Alibaba HK shares: Sources say Ma has bought over HK$600 million of Alibaba Hong Kong shares on consecutive days.
- US single-stock moves: AMD +3.5% after Raymond James upgraded to Strong Buy; NEBIUS +3.5% after Goldman raised its price target.
- Wall Street flags “devaluation trade” needs Fed support: Dollar-weakness bets have lifted gold and EM currencies, but some institutions argue the trade needs Fed cooperation to play out.
π§ Market Assessment
Apple’s M5 Ultra/M6 launch marks the arrival of 2nm chips, adding fresh momentum to the AI computing hardware theme, with Nasdaq clearly outperforming the Dow.
With crude down nearly 3% in a single session, any signs of easing in Iran/Hormuz talks could keep oil sentiment cooling.
Gold’s pullback from highs is contained, and the dollar’s slip to 98.9 still provides support; the “devaluation trade” narrative keeps building.
US new home sales and Conference Board consumer confidence data are due shortly, so short-term volatility may pick up.
β° Upcoming Key Data
- 22:00 US July New Home Sales (SAAR)
- 22:00 US August Conference Board Consumer Confidence
- 22:00 US August Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index