Andy Chen

Spot gold (XAUUSD) breached the $4,600 mark on August 21, Eastern Time, and is advancing toward $4,700, marking the first time gold has returned to this price level since May 15. The immediate catalyst driving the rally was the U.S. Department of the Treasury's unexpected expansion of its long-term Treasury buyback program. Although this does not constitute Federal Reserve quantitative easing nor will it reduce U.S. government debt, the policy signal reinforced market focus on fiscal pressures and long-end borrowing costs. As a result, gold has reaped a "dual-path benefit."

On August 21, US Eastern Time, Tesla (TSLA) rose over 4%, reclaiming the $360 mark. According to media reports, Tesla plans to open public test rides for Cybercab—its first autonomous taxi without a steering wheel or pedals—by the end of this month and officially integrate it into the Robotaxi network in Austin, Texas.

A renewed surge in US Treasury yields and rising oil prices weighed on market sentiment. All three major US stock indexes closed lower, but AI hardware stocks bucked the trend to move higher, with memory and optical communication stocks leading the gains. At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.32% to 52,759.21; the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.00% to 26,067.17; and the S&P 500 Index declined 0.87% to 7,641.16.

People familiar with the matter said that Anthropic PBC is accelerating its preparations for an initial public offering and could publicly file its IPO application as early as the end of this month. Media reports previously indicated that Anthropic would officially go public in October this year.

On August 20, Eastern Time, U.S. stocks suffered another setback. Despite U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent stating readiness to further scale up bond buybacks—with single long-term bond buyback operations potentially exceeding $4 billion—U.S. Treasury yields continued to surge. The 30-year Treasury yield rose as much as 6 basis points to 5.26%, returning to levels seen before Treasury Secretary Bessent announced the expanded buyback plan on Wednesday. The 10-year Treasury yield climbed in tandem by a similar magnitude.

Walmart (WMT) reported second-quarter sales before the U.S. market open that exceeded Wall Street expectations and raised its full-year performance forecast. However, full-year earnings per share (EPS) guidance came in below expectations, sending its stock down by around 10%.

Micron (MU) shares pulled back slightly after breaking above $1,000 and are currently hovering around $950. Bank of America believes artificial intelligence may have broken the memory boom-and-bust cycle, projecting long-term and massive earnings growth for Micron Technology. According to BofA's scenario model, Micron's revenue could reach $377.3 billion in fiscal year 2030, far exceeding the market consensus of $280.5 billion. On the profitability front, BofA expects its EPS to reach $236.16, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of up to 34.1%. The market's current valuation of Micron remains relatively conservative, standing at only about 6 times projected FY2027 earnings.

On August 20, Eastern Time, Bitcoin (BTCUSD) extended its rally, briefly surging past $72,000 to touch its highest level since early June. Having long hovered near $60,000, Bitcoin staged a rapid surge in a short period, reflecting a clear recovery in market risk appetite.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced an increase in long-term bond buyback operations, sending bond yields lower and driving stock prices up. All three major stock indices gained, while AI hardware stocks extended their losses, led by declines in memory stocks. At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.22% to 53,463.05; the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.16% to 26,331.09; and the S&P 500 Index rose 0.21% to 7,707.98.

In July 2026, Nvidia maintained its position as the world's most valuable company with a market capitalization of $4.86 trillion. Apple, Alphabet, and Microsoft followed closely behind, with all top five companies driven by AI-related businesses and cloud computing. However, capital did not continue to flow unilaterally into chip stocks in July: the PHLX Semiconductor Index (SOX) dropped 20.61% in a single month, putting upstream names such as TSMC, SK Hynix, and Micron under visible pressure. This demonstrates that the market is shifting from "AI investment expansion" to scrutinizing returns on capital expenditure and the sustainability of supply chain profitability.

The Federal Reserve released the minutes of its July meeting on August 19, Eastern Time. At the meeting held on July 28–29, the FOMC decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 3.50%–3.75%. The minutes noted that some Fed officials believed monetary policy might need to be tightened if inflation fails to decline. Some participants noted that the current monetary policy rate was not sufficiently restrictive to bring inflation down to 2%.

On August 19, Eastern Time, Broadcom (AVGO) fell for the fourth consecutive trading session, dropping near a key support level of $360. Meanwhile, Marvell Technology and Google today announced a custom chip partnership, issuing warrants to Google to purchase up to 58.97 million shares at an exercise price of $206.58 per share, representing a total value of approximately $12.18 billion. The two parties signed a commercial agreement on July 29 under which Marvell will supply custom chip products to Google, with the subsequent vesting of the warrants tied to revenue generated from the partnership products.

On August 19 Eastern Time, Apple (AAPL) rose for the second consecutive trading day, with its stock price returning to near $315. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index extended its weakness, showing a renewed short-term divergence between Apple and the chip sector.

Weighed down by the U.S. 30-year Treasury yield hitting a 19-year high and rising oil prices, the three major U.S. stock indexes all came under pressure. Semiconductor stocks led the losses, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index falling by around 5% and memory chip stocks tumbling. At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.22% to 53,343.40 points; the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 1.33% to 26,289.71 points; and the S&P 500 Index dropped 0.69% to 7,691.76 points.

Anthropic is reportedly planning to expand its revolving credit facility to over $10 billion to secure ample liquidity ahead of a potential initial public offering (IPO). Sources familiar with the matter said the company's original financing target was around $10 billion, but several banks are offering higher commitments to compete for prominent IPO underwriting roles, though the final facility size may still end up near or even below the initial target.

Nvidia (NVDA) recently announced a strategic partnership with SB Energy to provide a credit guarantee of up to $105 billion for the PORTS-Pike Technology Park in Ohio. The site will be developed into a hyperscale data center dedicated to Nvidia's AI computing infrastructure, with OpenAI serving as the sole tenant.

On August 18 Eastern Time, SanDisk (SNDK) shares fell back below $1,700, snapping a six-day winning streak. According to the latest NAND Flash industry research report by TrendForce, AI server procurement momentum remained steady in the second quarter of 2026. Robust demand for enterprise SSDs in pa

On August 18 Eastern Time, Home Depot (HD) released its second-quarter fiscal 2026 financial results before the US market open. During the period, Home Depot's net sales grew 5.7% year-over-year to $47.861 billion, exceeding market expectations of $47.24 billion. Following the earnings release, Home Depot's stock bucked the market trend to trade higher, rising 1.01% to $341.30 as of press time.

The US-Iran ceasefire agreement expired on Monday as negotiations reached a deadlock, while the 30-year US Treasury yield hit a new high since 2007, both of which weighed on US equities. All three major indexes fell, while AI hardware stocks bucked the trend to strengthen, with memory and optical communication stocks leading the gains. At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.51% to 53,459.78; the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.32% to 26,644.91; and the S&P 500 Index lost 0.52% to 7,745.06.

Amazon's (AMZN) stock price has experienced a continuous pullback since reaching an all-time high of $287.20 on August 3, currently falling below $260. In his latest report, Morgan Stanley analyst Brian Nowak assigned a price target of $335 for Amazon, implying a 30% upside potential from current levels, while maintaining an "Overweight" rating. He noted that if Amazon's AWS business continues to grow along its expected trajectory, the stock could reach $500 by the end of 2027.