Weekly Market Movers — Key Highlights
  • Nvidia’s earnings reignited AI-driven market momentum.
  • Jackson Hole symposium took center stage for rate outlook clues.
  • U.S.-Canada tariff tensions led to new global growth concerns.
  • Critical infrastructure and cybersecurity move into market focus.

Global equities advanced over the week reflecting improving risk sentiment across both developed and emerging markets. Strength in U.S. technology and artificial intelligence-related shares, supported by upbeat corporate earnings and guidance, helped offset mixed regional performance in Europe and Asia, while investor attention remained focused on the Jackson Hole symposium and the outlook for global interest rates. The constructive tone in major equity markets was underscored by the continued resilience in global risk assets despite ongoing macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties.

In global geopolitics, the ongoing Middle East tensions and disruptions to energy supply routes through the Strait of Hormuz, continued to shape oil-price expectations and inflation concerns. The Trump administration declared a national emergency aimed at protecting the U.S. bulk power system from foreign security and cyber threats, reinforcing focus on critical infrastructure security, supply-chain resilience, and domestic manufacturing. In addition, trade-policy uncertainty persisted following the U.S. decision to impose 50% tariffs on Canadian imports after bilateral trade negotiations stalled, raising concerns about potential retaliatory measures and the impact of higher trade barriers on global growth and corporate supply chains. Collectively, these developments contributed to elevated uncertainty across global markets.

Global Updates
  • The MSCI All Country World gained on optimism around Nvidia earnings, while lower oil prices and easing yields supported sentiment.
  • Energean has entered exclusive negotiations to acquire selected BP upstream oil and gas assets in Egypt, as per sources.
  • Truworths International reported a 2.6% decline in annual profit, as challenging consumer conditions and weaker spending weighed on performance.
  • Kioxia and Sandisk plan to invest over $31 billion in Japan by 2032 to expand semiconductor production and advance memory chip technology.
  • SK Hynix announced plans to begin mass production of next‑gen HBM4E memory chips at its Indiana facility in 2029, while warning global memory chip shortages could persist through 2030.
  • Qantas Airways announced it will retire its 10 Airbus A380 aircraft from mid‑2028, four years earlier than planned, as rising maintenance costs and fleet modernization drive the transition.
  • Visa and Mastercard processed their first international card payments in Syria, helping reconnect the country to global payment networks following recent U.S. policy changes.
  • South Korea, Japan, and the United States announced joint military exercises scheduled for September 9/11 to strengthen preparedness against North Korea’s missile and nuclear threats.
  • Flash floods triggered by a glacier collapse in the Himalayas killed at least 359 people and left nearly 1,000 missing, while Nepal and China warned of further flood risks from newly formed lakes.
  • Iran mediators pushed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with Tehran outlining conditions for restoring normal shipping traffic.
  • Turkey’s diesel imports from the U.S. and India hit record levels as buyers sought alternatives amid Russian export restrictions and Iran-related disruptions.
U.S. Equity
  • Major U.S. equity markets advanced over the week, with the S&P 500 recovering from the prior week’s weakness, while the Nasdaq Composite outperformed as investor risk appetite improved. Gains were driven primarily by strength in large-cap technology and artificial intelligence-related stocks, led by Nvidia’s rally following stronger-than-expected revenue guidance, which helped alleviate concerns about AI infrastructure spending and supported broader market sentiment. Investors also focused on the Jackson Hole symposium and potential signals on the interest-rate outlook, while declining market volatility reinforced the constructive tone across U.S. equities.
  • Initial U.S. jobless claims fell to 203,000, signaling continued labor-market resilience and influencing interest-rate expectations.
  • Investors are focused on the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, with Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s first keynote address on Friday.
  • Nvidia reported a higher-than-expected $2.22 adjusted EPS on a fiscal second-quarter revenue of $96.22 billion. The company also issued strong forward guidance, reinforcing confidence in AI-related spending and driving a sharp rally in technology shares. The company has projected 70% revenue growth in fiscal 2028. However, CEO Jensen Huang has indicated supply constraints are limiting sales.
  • Nvidia’s reported agreement to acquire AI platform Hugging Face for approximately $12.9 billion further strengthened enthusiasm around the AI investment cycle. However, Nvidia has paused its AI infrastructure financing program, which provides funding support to cloud-computing customers in exchange for a share of future revenues, signaling a more measured approach to capital deployment.
  • Salesforce stock rallied  after the company reported a second-quarter earnings beat, raised guidance, and announced an expanded partnership with Anthropic. Salesforce posted a fiscal second quarter EPS of $5.90 on a 11% higher revenue of $11.35 billion and projected full year revenue of $46.1 billion to $46.4 billion.
  • CrowdStrike reported strong second quarter revenue growth of 26% to $1.47 billion and 31 cents adjusted EPS. The company also raised its full-year revenue outlook to the $5.99 billion and $6.01 billion range.
  • Okta stock surged after posting 11% higher second quarter revenue of $805 million and an adjusted earnings of $1.05 per share. Okta raised its full year revenue guidance to the $3.216 billion to $3.226 billion range, that exceeded expectations.
  • Marvell Technology stock dragged after issuing non-GAAP gross-margin guidance in the 57.5% to 58.5% range for the current quarter which disappointed investors.
  • Reports that JPMorgan was arranging a $5 billion financing package for Volta’s AI data-center expansion highlighted continued large-scale infrastructure investment tied to AI demand.
  • The U.S. Treasury’s efforts to increase debt buybacks helped drive declines in longer-dated Treasury yields, offering support to risk assets.
  • President Donald Trump declared a national emergency related to the U.S. bulk power system, which highlighted growing concerns over potential cybersecurity and operational risks associated with foreign-sourced electrical equipment and digital infrastructure. The executive order increased investor focus on energy security, critical infrastructure resilience, and broader efforts to reduce vulnerabilities within the U.S. electricity grid.
Fixed Income
  • The Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index rose over the week. 
  • The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield declined slightly to 4.676% and the yield on the 2-year note declined slightly to 4.228% over the week.
  • The U.S. Dollar Index declined slightly to 99.19 over the week.