Market Brief — August 19, 2026

US equities edged higher as the S&P 500 (SPX) gained 0.2%, the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) added 0.2% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) climbed 0.2%, supported by healthcare and biotech gains. European indices were flat, with the FTSE 100 (UKX) up 0.1% while the DAX (DAX) and CAC 40 (FRA40) slipped around 0.1% as traders positioned ahead of UK inflation data and the latest Fed minutes. Asian markets lagged, with Japan’s Nikkei (NKY) down about 3.2% and the Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) off 2.4% as higher oil prices and Gulf trade tensions weighed on regional risk appetite.

FOMC minutes from the July 28–29 meeting showed the federal funds rate held at 3.50%–3.75% in a 9–3 vote and indicated many officials expect further tightening will likely be needed if inflation does not decline. US data kept the growth‐inflation mix in focus, with July headline CPI up 0.1% month-on-month and 3.4% year-on-year, ISM Manufacturing and Non‐Manufacturing PMIs rising to 55.6 and 54.1, and markets watching follow-up PPI, jobless claims and retail sales alongside upcoming UK July CPI (forecast 3.0% vs 2.6% prior) and Japan’s July trade balance (forecast -¥500B vs -¥406.9B). Treasury developments underscored fiscal strains as gross federal debt reached $40.047T, including a $432.3B July deficit and nearly $1.2T in interest so far this year, while the department doubled the cap on long‐dated buybacks from $2B to at least $4B per operation, contributing to a 0.77% intraday drop in the dollar index (DXY) and firmer gold (GCZ26), silver (SIU26) and WTI futures (CL) around $85.46 with Brent near $91–95.

Biotech drove US trading as Moderna (MRNA) jumped about 177% after its melanoma mRNA vaccine plus Merck’s Keytruda met primary endpoints in a Phase 3 trial, lifting Merck shares roughly 12.6% and supporting gains in peers such as TWST (+22.64%) and BNTX (+21.96%). Crude markets stayed tight on Gulf risk, with reports of shipping disruptions and a vessel strike near the Strait of Hormuz and a roughly 4.405 million-barrel US crude build, while Brent traded around $91–$91.6 per barrel and WTI near $85–$86 as the UAE suspended all trade and financial transactions with Iran and the US paused planned 50% tariffs on some Canadian imports for three days. In corporate and market-structure news, Unitree’s STAR Market IPO raised about 6.1B yuan at 150.80 yuan per share and closed at 845 yuan after peaking near 1,100 yuan, Marvell granted Google a warrant to buy up to 58,970,907 shares at $206.58 tied to custom AI-chip purchases, and Cantor Fitzgerald opened Kalshi’s prediction markets, including a planned US500 perpetual futures contract, to roughly 3,000 institutional clients with Susquehanna providing liquidity. Nexus IT completed its acquisition of Loyal IT, extending its national IT services platform into the Texas market, while Payment Asia Group secured a Canadian money-services-business licence as its AlphaPay unit completed the integration of Motion Pay. In announced deals, Veralto agreed to acquire Cleanwater1, NNS moved to acquire shares in OCI, and buyers including Bridgenext, Lattice, Blackford Capital, StoneX Group, Lion Real Estate Group and Infinity Aviation Group disclosed add-on acquisitions across software, industrial, real estate and aviation assets.