Morning Briefing
Published
S&P 500 futures point to a lower open, with the SPY down 0.4%, as hopes for a diplomatic off-ramp in the Iran standoff evaporate. Trump has rejected Iran's latest proposal, Iran's delegation in New York says it has no plans to negotiate, and Supreme Leader Khamenei is now claiming enemy forces "do not dare enter the Gulf." Mediators are still expected to hold separate talks with the US and Iran on Monday or Tuesday around a revised seven-day Iranian proposal, but markets are no longer pricing that path as likely.
Crude is reversing hard on the breakdown, with US futures gaining more than 4% to a session high above $96 a barrel even as Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline resumes exports and Libya's Sharara field pumps over 300,000 barrels a day. The bond market is delivering its own warning: the 10-year yield rose 7 basis points to 5.23%, its highest since 2007, consistent with Fed officials' concerns over sticky inflation. Gold is the odd one out, falling more than 3% below $4,155 an ounce on expectations of higher-for-longer Fed policy, dragging silver and gold miners sharply lower alongside it.
Energy is the standout sector gainer, up 1.5%, led by ExxonMobil and Chevron among mega-caps, while Technology is the weakest major sector, down 0.8%, with semiconductor names such as Intel, Applied Materials, Lam Research and Oracle among the hardest hit. Materials is mixed, with Freeport-McMoRan and Newmont each down more than 4% against gains in CF Industries and Dow. Growth-oriented factors are underperforming value and low-volatility factors broadly.
Company News
- Nvidia raises its share buyback authorization by $150 billion, bringing total commitments to $279 billion, and says Anthropic's reported contracted value now exceeds $180 billion.
- Merck enters an exclusive global license agreement with Scibrunch Therapeutics for SPR2015, an oral KRAS G12D inhibitor targeting pancreatic and colorectal cancers.
- Valley National Bancorp agrees to acquire digital small-business lender Bluevine for roughly $340 million, adding $2.1 billion in low-cost deposits and about 175,000 active customers.
- Mirum Pharmaceuticals and Incyte win FDA approval for Atebrioz to treat fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva, with Mirum estimating annual revenue potential above $200 million; the companies also report positive Phase 3 results for brelovitug in hepatitis delta.
- AbbVie's Juvmo receives FDA approval for Parkinson's disease, and Bayer's Lynkuet gets FDA priority review for breast cancer.
- Hut 8 secures a four-year, up to $1.07 billion senior secured credit facility led by JPMorgan Chase.
- Strategy discloses it bought 1,665 bitcoin for $142.7 million over the past week, lifting total holdings to 847,666 bitcoin.
- Flutter Entertainment says it has halted sports betting and iGaming operations in Brazil following a government ban, flagging a potential $70 million revenue hit for 2026 if the suspension lasts the year.
- Northern Star rejects a $27 billion takeover approach from Gold Fields.
- General Motors warns on the US market as automakers look for shelter from Chinese rivals.
- The US and China unveil $30 billion in tariff cuts following a meeting between Trump and Xi.
Overseas Data
China's industrial profits rose 15.7% year over year through August, decelerating from 17.6% in July, while Beijing's cabinet signals it will step up counter-cyclical macroeconomic support.
In Europe, Sweden's August trade balance swung to a deficit of 11.9 billion from a 1.2 billion surplus in July, and Spain's July mortgage lending rose 19.0% year over year, down from 27.4% previously, even as mortgage approvals fell 3.5%.