MARKET AT 7
Good evening. Wall Street just had its worst session in weeks, and bond yields are back to doing the damage they were supposed to be fixed by midweek. Gold and bitcoin are both riding that same anxious energy, just on opposite sides of the market. Here’s what moved the markets today:by.
In tonight's newsletter:
Wall Street falls as yields climb, Walmart posts its worst day in years
ASX 200 slips again as the Aussie dollar rises on US dollar weakness
Bitcoin tops $77,000 as ETF inflows return for a second day
Gold holds near two-month highs above $4,500 an ounce
Oil rises as Trump threatens Iran with economic "D-Day"
1.
Treasury doubles bond buybacks; Wall Street and gold rally
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 703.84 points, or 1.32%, to 52,759.21 on Thursday; the S&P 500 slipped 0.87% to 7,641.16; and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1% to 26,067.17, CNBC and the Washington Times reported.
Treasury yields climbed back towards levels seen before the debt buyback announcement earlier this week, crushing hopes the move would keep borrowing costs down. Walmart shares fell as much as 9% despite beating earnings and revenue estimates after growth in U.S. comparable sales slowed to 2.6%, its slowest rate in six years. Futures also pointed to a rough Friday open, with S&P and Nasdaq futures both down close to 1% before the start of trading. Source: CNBC, 20 Aug 2026 → · Source: Washington Times, 20 Aug 2026 →
OUR TAKE:
Treasury's buyback was meant to buy calm for longer than two trading days. Yields are already back near where they started, and that matters more tonight than anything in Walmart's numbers.
2.
ASX snaps six-day skid as gold miners offset bank losses
The ASX 200 closed down 24 points, or 0.27%, at 9,058.90 on Friday, ABC News reported, extending a rough week even as three gold miners posted standout earnings. The Australian dollar rose to $0.7123 against the US dollar, gaining 0.13% on the day, largely due to broad US dollar weakness rather than anything local. Regis Resources jumped 3.2% to $8.49 after a record annual profit of $715 million, up 181% on the year before, while Ramelius Resources edged up 0.8% despite a 33% fall in underlying profit, the Motley Fool Australia reported. Source: ABC News, 21 Aug 2026 → · Source: The Motley Fool Australia, 21 Aug 2026 →
OUR TAKE:
Today's Aussie gain came from Wall Street's bad night, not from anything happening onshore. That's a fragile way to rally.
3.
Bitcoin tops $77,000 as ETF inflows return for a second day
Bitcoin traded above $77,000 on Friday, up 7.67% on the day and climbing from below $64,000 earlier in the week, CoinDesk reported. Bitcoin and Ether ETFs pulled in roughly $800 million combined on Thursday, marking a second straight day of inflows after weeks of money leaving the sector. The jump tracks the same risk-on mood, lifting other assets tonight, even with bond markets still jittery. Source: CoinDesk, 21 Aug 2026 →
OUR TAKE:
Hard to call this one cleanly. It could be bitcoin catching a genuine bid, or it could just be riding the same wave as stocks and gold for one more day.
4.
Gold holds near two-month highs above $4,500 an ounce
Gold traded around $4,522 to $4,596 an ounce on Friday, on course for a third straight weekly gain and holding near its highest level since June, Fortune and Trading Economics data show. The move follows Wednesday's more than 4% jump, triggered by the US Treasury's decision to double its long-term debt buybacks, and gold has stayed elevated even as yields climbed back up since. It remains well short of January's record high near $5,597 an ounce.Source: Fortune, 20 Aug 2026 → · Source: Trading Economics, 21 Aug 2026 →
OUR TAKE:
Gold sitting this high with yields rising again is the unusual part. Normally one caps the other.
5.
Oil rises as Trump threatens Iran with economic "D-Day"
Brent crude traded between $92.69 and $93.01 a barrel this week, on pace for a weekly gain above 5%, Bloomberg and Trading Economics data show.
The move follows the UAE's decision to suspend all trade and financial transactions with Iran on Wednesday, after its air defences intercepted two ballistic missiles fired from Iran, one of which landed in UAE waters, the Washington Post and The National reported.
President Trump added to the pressure on Friday, promising what he called the "most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country" to push Iran back from its nuclear programme and reopen the Strait of Hormuz to tankers, the Washington Post reported. Source: Bloomberg, 21 Aug 2026 → · Source: Washington Post, 21 Aug 2026 → · Source: The National, 19 Aug 2026 →
OUR TAKE:
Oil barely moved on the UAE's move alone. Trump's threat is the bigger signal tonight, and it's not clear traders have priced it in yet.
QUICK HITS
RBA and RBNZ stay quiet as neither meets this week. The RBA held its cash rate at 4.35% at its last meeting on 11 August, and the RBNZ's next decision isn't due until its Monetary Policy Statement on 2 September, after lifting its rate to 2.50% in July. Our take: neither bank meets this week, so nothing here should move your rate expectations before September. Source: Reserve Bank of Australia → · Source: Reserve Bank of New Zealand →
New Zealand's data centre boom could add $120 billion. A large-scale data centre build-out could add up to $120 billion in economic activity to New Zealand over the next decade, up from an earlier $70 billion estimate, according to a Boston Consulting Group report, RNZ reported. Peak construction could create around 3,500 jobs, with about 60% in electrical and mechanical trades. Our take: this is the number behind New Zealand's pitch as a stable, renewable-powered alternative to the bigger data centre hubs. Source: RNZ, 19 Aug 2026 →
UAE's move adds to a widening economic squeeze on Iran. Tehran now faces suspended trade with one of its largest commercial partners on top of existing US sanctions pressure and Trump's fresh threat of an "unprecedented" campaign. Our take: sanctions on a country already at war rarely change behaviour fast. They do shape how long Iran can keep funding this one. Source: The National, 19 Aug 2026 → · Source: Washington Post, 21 Aug 2026 →
Those are your 5 minutes for tonight; see you at the same time tomorrow. - Miko Santos
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