MARKET AT 7
Good evening. Wall Street's in the red tonight, and it's oil doing most of the damage as tensions flare again around the Middle East. Back home, earnings season delivered one of its biggest days yet, with three of the ASX's biggest names reporting on the same morning. Here's what moved markets today:
In tonight's newsletter:
Wall Street falls as oil and bond yields rise
BHP, CSL and Pro Medicus headline record ASX earnings day
Oil tops $91 a barrel as Lebanon fighting escalates
Japan's economy cools as GDP growth slows to 1.1%
Gold holds near highs as Aussie dollar firms
1.
Wall Street falls as oil and bond yields rise
The Dow closed down 0.5% at 53,459.78, the S&P 500 fell 0.5% to 7,745.06 and the Nasdaq lost 0.3% to 26,644.91, CNBC and Eurasia Business News reported. The VIX, Wall Street's main fear gauge, jumped 3.83%, and 10-year Treasury yields rose 1.79% as rising oil prices and caution ahead of this week's retail earnings weighed on sentiment. Home Depot reports before the bell today, with Walmart, Target and Lowe's to follow through the week — a first real read on how US shoppers are handling inflation. Source: CNBC, 17 Aug 2026 → · Source: Eurasia Business News, 18 Aug 2026 →
OUR TAKE:
On its own, a soft session means nothing. The same week four of America's biggest retailers report earnings, it reads more like markets bracing for a verdict on how shoppers are actually holding up.
2.
BHP, CSL and Pro Medicus headline record ASX earnings day
BHP booked a $13.8 billion annual profit under chief executive Brandon Craig, Michael West Media reported. CSL posted its first annual loss since listing in 1994, driven by large impairments, but announced a fresh share buy-back and guided to a return to growth in FY27. Pro Medicus was the standout: FY26 revenue rose 22.9%, underlying profit swung from a loss the year before to $289.1 million, and the dividend jumped 25%. Even with the earnings beats, the ASX 200 only edged up 0.1% to 9,084 points by early afternoon, still short of snapping its five-day losing run, ABC News and the Motley Fool Australia reported. Source: Michael West Media, 18 Aug 2026 → · Source: ABC News, 18 Aug 2026 → · Source: The Motley Fool Australia, 18 Aug 2026 →
OUR TAKE:
Three standout results, and the index barely moved. That tells you investors are pricing individual company stories today, not a broad market turn.
3.
Oil tops $91 a barrel as Lebanon fighting escalates
Brent crude rose to $90.97 a barrel on Tuesday, Trading Economics data shows, near its highest level in weeks. Israel struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanon on Sunday in what local reports called the deadliest day of fighting there in months, adding to renewed attacks on vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Bloomberg reported the combination has muddied hopes for any near-term deal to end the wider US-Iran standoff, with crude flows through Hormuz still running at roughly a quarter of pre-conflict levels. Source: Trading Economics, 18 Aug 2026 → · Source: Bloomberg, 16 Aug 2026 →
OUR TAKE:
This conflict keeps looking like it's cooling, then reopening days later. The risk premium in oil now has less to do with any single flashpoint than with a market that's stopped expecting the fighting to end soon.
4.
Japan's economy cools as GDP growth slows to 1.1%Photo
apan's economy grew at an annualised 1.1% in the second quarter, Cabinet Office data showed, down from 1.8% in the first quarter and short of the 2% economists expected, the Japan Times and CNBC reported. Exports, boosted by a weak yen, added 0.5 percentage points to growth, while private consumption made no contribution as households absorbed higher energy costs tied to the Middle East conflict. The yen strengthened slightly to 159.1 against the US dollar after the release, and the Nikkei 225 rose 0.43%. Source: Japan Times, 17 Aug 2026 → · Source: CNBC, 17 Aug 2026 →
OUR TAKE:
Exports are carrying this economy. Consumers have stopped contributing anything to it, and a weak yen is doing most of the work that's keeping the growth number positive at all.
5.
Gold holds near highs as Aussie dollar firms
Gold traded at $4,429.49 an ounce on Tuesday, up 0.3% on the day, Trading Economics figures show. The Australian dollar sat near $0.711 against the US dollar, holding above the $0.705 level and close to a multi-week high, as the RBA's restrictive stance kept the currency supported. Gold's climb this year has run alongside a stronger Aussie dollar rather than against it, an unusual pairing that typically points to broader unease rather than a single local driver. Source: Trading Economics, 18 Aug 2026 → · Source: Trading Economics, 18 Aug 2026 →
OUR TAKE:
Gold and a firmer Aussie dollar don't usually move together. When they do, it's normally a sign that global investors are hedging against something bigger than any one country's rate settings.
QUICK HITS
Bitcoin recovers above $64,000. BTC traded around $64,081, up roughly 2.2% over 24 hours after touching a weekly low near $62,700. Our take: this looks like a bounce off a clean low rather than a breakout. Worth watching whether it holds above $64,000 into the weekend. Source: Sunday Guardian Live, 18 Aug 2026 →
Australia expands SME financing in Solomon Islands. Ten Solomon Islands small businesses gained access to cheaper finance through a new partnership between Australia and the Development Bank of Solomon Islands, extending credit to indigenous businesses in tourism and transport that wouldn't otherwise qualify. Our take: small dollar figures, but steady, unglamorous investment like this is what actually shapes who Pacific nations trust as an economic partner. Source: Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation, Aug 2026 →
Home Depot's results were still pending at deadline tonight. Analysts expect adjusted earnings of about $4.71 to $4.73 a share on roughly $47 billion in revenue, the first results delivered by an interim office after chief executive Ted Decker began medical leave. Our take: [need to confirm: actual result, not out as of publication] — worth checking first thing tomorrow, since new US tariffs on Canadian goods land the very next day. Source: TIKR, 18 Aug 2026 →
Those are your 5 minutes for tonight; see you at the same time tomorrow. - Miko Santos