Newsquawk Daily Asia-Pac Opening News - 12th August 2026

US stocks ended the day with a downside bias, although the Russell 2000 outperformed and saw gains, while sectors were mixed as Utilities and Energy sat atop of the pile, with the latter supported by rising oil prices, albeit in very choppy trade. Ultimately, the energy space was buoyed after reports that a Saudi ship was targeted near Bab al-Mandab by Yemen's Houthis. Conversely, Communication Services and Consumer Discretionary were the laggards, as the former was hit by Alphabet weakness. Overall newsflow, aside from geopolitics, was sparse as desks await US CPI on Wednesday, which will be key in shaping expectations for the September FOMC meeting. USD was little changed as markets await US CPI & PPI over the next couple of days. Key data was absent, leaving the focus on Fed speak and geopolitics. The former continued to show that combating inflation is the main Fed priority; meanwhile, optimism over a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz continues to fade as fresh attacks are seen on ships in both key waterways in the region. Iran maintains that its demands must be met for the Strait to be reopened, posing a greater challenge for the US this time to find resolve when compared to the commitments needed for the brief reopening seen in June. Looking ahead, highlights include South Korean Unemployment Rate, Japanese Money Supply, Australian Wage Price Index, Supply from Australia & Japan. STOCKS S&P 500 -0.3% Nasdaq Comp. -0.6% DJIA -0.3% Russell 2000 +0.3% ES Sep'26 -0.3% RTY Sep'26 +0.4% NQ Sep'26 -0.3% YM Sep'26 -0.3% FX DXY Flat (99.82) EUR/USD Flat USD/JPY +0.1% GBP/USD Flat BONDS US T-Note Sep'26 +3 ticks 10yr Bund Sep'26 +10 ticks US 10yr Yield 4.70% German 10yr Yield 3.16% ENERGY & METALS WTI Sep'26 +1.3% Brent Oct'26 +2.1% Spot Gold -0.5% LME Copper -0.1% CRYPTO Bitcoin -0.4% Ethereum +0.6% As of 21:50BST/16:50EDT LOOKING AHEAD Highlights include South Korean Unemployment Rate, Japanese Money Supply, Australian Wage Price Index, Supply from Australia & Japan. Click for the Newsquawk Week Ahead. IRAN CONFLICT US military intelligence assessment said Iran’s strategic priority has shifted from its nuclear program to the Strait of Hormuz, NBC reports, citing sources. Military officials also told President Trump that the US could try to take the strait by force but that it would be long, deadly and very costly, with no certainty that the US would win. Iran’s Foreign Minister Araghchi said Iran proved itself to the world and showed it was a tough and invincible power. Iran’s Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Razaei said the Strait of Hormuz would not open until the US changed its behaviour and accepted Iran's conditions, while he added that America must end the war, pay Iran's frozen money, and that the war must end across the entire region, including Lebanon and Gaza, as well as other conditions that had been transferred through intermediaries. Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary said diplomatic policy would follow the Supreme Leader's guidance, prioritising stronger deterrence, resistance to enemy coercion and an immediate, decisive response to any aggression. He also stated that Iran would not back down if its people's rights or interests were threatened. IRGC spokesperson warned that if a threat to Iran arose again, hundreds of thousands of miles of energy pipelines, thousands of power plants, all American and non-American systems, as well as global infrastructure connected to the internet, would be at risk. Pakistani Defence Minister reportedly signalled the US and Iran were close to some agreement, and that the situation was moving towards peace, while it was also reported that Pakistan's Interior Minister arrived in Tehran, according to an Iranian official. Qatar's Foreign Ministry spokesperson said negotiations between Oman and Iran were at an advanced stage, adding that positive feedback had been heard from both countries. US forces reportedly fired on a Panama-flagged ship that attempted to run the American blockade of Iranian ports early Tuesday, according to the WSJ citing a US official. Furthermore, US CENTCOM said forces disabled the steering gear of Panama-flagged M/V Vela Nova as the cargo vessel attempted to transit the Gulf of Oman and violate the US blockade against Iran. UKMTO received a report of an incident involving a container ship and military forces in the Gulf of Oman. It was separately reported that the UKMTO was informed of an incident off the coast of Al Mokha, Yemen,** where a cargo vessel in the Southern Red Sea was hit by an unknown projectile, resulting in casualties. A Saudi ship was reportedly targeted near Bab al-Mandab, according to Fars citing Arab and Yemeni sources, while Yemeni sources said a second missile targeted a ship while the coast guard was rescuing its crew in Bab al-Mandab. Yemeni official said they never closed the doors of dialogue and negotiation with Saudi Arabia, according to ISNA. Rocket attack hit an Iranian Kurdish opposition camp northeast of Iraq's Erbil, according to reports citing security sources. US TRADE US stocks ended the day with a downside bias, although the Russell 2000 outperformed and saw gains, while sectors were mixed as Utilities and Energy sat atop of the pile, with the latter supported by rising oil prices, albeit in very choppy trade. Ultimately, the energy space was buoyed after reports that a Saudi ship was targeted near Bab al-Mandab by Yemen's Houthis. Conversely, Communication Services and Consumer Discretionary were the laggards, as the former was hit by Alphabet weakness. Overall newsflow, aside from geopolitics, was sparse as desks await US CPI on Wednesday, which will be key in shaping expectations for the September FOMC meeting. SPX -0.32% at 7,728, NDX -0.33% at 29,525, DJI -0.34% at 53,797, RUT +0.32% at 3,027. Click here for a detailed summary. TARIFFS/TRADE Canada and US trade officials are mapping out a potential deal to pitch to Trump next week, according to CBC News. NOTABLE HEADLINES Fed's Goolsbee (2027 Voter) said labour market indicators showed stability but not strong performance. Goolsbee stated that as long as the consumer remained healthy, the economy would too, while he added that the biggest problem facing the economy right now was inflation. Fed's Venable (Interim, Non-voter) said inflation was too high, and that he was hearing the same message from contacts across the southeast. Venable stated that the labour market appeared to be broadly stable, while labour supply was hardly growing, an unusual circumstance that changed the formula for determining maximum employment. Furthermore, he said there were nuanced risks to assess on both sides of the dual mandate. NVIDIA (NVDA) is aiming for the new model, the biggest of a family it is calling Nemotron 4, to be on par in performance with the best open-source AI models in the world, according to The Information. DATA RECAP US ADP Employment Change Weekly 8.25k (Prev. 15.0k) US Existing Home Sales (Jul) 4.06 vs. Exp. 4.05 (Prev. 4.13) US Existing Home Sales (Jul) M/M -1.7% (Prev. -1.4%) FX USD was little changed as markets await US CPI & PPI over the next couple of days. Key data was absent, leaving the focus on Fed speak and geopolitics. The former continued to show that combating inflation is the main Fed priority; meanwhile, optimism over a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz continues to fade as fresh attacks are seen on ships in both key waterways in the region. Iran maintains that its demands must be met for the Strait to be reopened, posing a greater challenge for the US this time to find resolve when compared to the commitments needed for the brief reopening seen in June. EUR lacked direction and kept to within a tight range in the absence of any pertinent catalysts. GBP returned to flat territory in indecisive range-bound trade across the FX space. JPY conformed to humdrum mood in major peers with USD/JPY lingering at the 159.00 handle. FIXED INCOME T-notes settled higher but with upside capped amid higher oil prices and as treasuries meandered ahead of CPI. COMMODITIES Oil prices ended the day with gains on what was a choppy session as Middle East headlines dominated the tape in an otherwise quiet day. Iran’s Oil Minister said 95mln cubic metres of gas would return to the production cycle by the end of September. US Energy Secretary said the seven-day average for oil leaving the Strait of Hormuz was currently up to almost 9mln BPD. EIA STEO stated that US oil production to average 13.83mln BPD in August (vs. 13.82mln BPD in July) and 13.77mln BPD in September, while world oil production in 2026 is seen at 100.8mln BPD (Prev. 101.9mln BPD), 2027 at 109.7mln BPD.. Furthermore, world oil demand in 2026 is seen at 102.7mln BPD (Prev. 102.8mln BPD) and 2027 at 105.0mln BPD (Prev. 104.8mln BPD). GEOPOLITICAL OTHER Chinese and Indonesian navies will hold a joint drill in sensitive waters east of Taiwan this month in an area where Beijing has been seeking to assert its sovereignty claims, according to Nikkei. ASIA-PAC NOTABLE HEADLINES TSMC (TSM/2330 TT) approved the formation of a new JV with Sony Semiconductor Solutions (6768 JT) to develop and manufacture next-generation image sensors, while the JV is valued at no more than JPY 282bln. EU/UK NOTABLE HEADLINES UK PM Burnham said the government was looking at more support for businesses, adding it was facing a difficult financial outlook and would not bring forward any measures that could not be funded. He also said the government was in a position with limited room for manoeuvre on support.