Focus

• The Thailand Focus 2026 event showcased 77 listed companies to global investors, with the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) emphasizing opportunities in digital infrastructure and the New Economy. • Thai financial institutions and banks emerged as the primary sectors attracting the most interest from institutional investors during the event. • Some overseas investors expressed concern that Thailand's 49% foreign-shareholding ceiling could act as a constraint on further capital inflows.

• Asian stock markets are positioned for gains as oil prices continue to decline, providing relief to investors after persistent inflation and high yields pressured risk appetite. • Market attention is heavily focused on upcoming earnings reports from Nvidia, which are expected to serve as a key indicator for the tech sector. • LPL Financial chief economist Jeffrey Roach warns that while employment remains solid, fading expectations for income growth could hinder future consumer spending.

Democratic Senate candidate for Michigan distances himself from Hasan Piker and debates Fox News hostThe Democratic candidate for Senate in the swing state of Michigan has spent the week trying to keep his affordability message front and center as scrutiny mounts from both ends of the political spectrum.In the span of two days, Abdul El-Sayed distanced himself from leftwing streamer Hasan Piker, spoke out against rightwing hate directed at the Muslim community, and debated Fox News host Jesse Watters on taxing billionaires. The clip circulating most from the Fox interview, though, focused on circumcision - specifically, El-Sayed asking Watters if he was, in a retort to Watters’ question about gender-affirming care. Continue reading...

• The South Korean Kospi index fell 1.4% as Asian stock markets dipped amid investor caution. • Market volatility is being driven by focus on the artificial intelligence sector and anticipation of the upcoming U.S. Federal Reserve meeting. • Investors are also monitoring a scheduled Monday conference by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent regarding a plan to economically isolate Iran.

• Major European stock indexes closed mostly lower on Monday as investors focused on geopolitical tensions surrounding Ukraine. • The market dip coincided with European leaders, including UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham, gathering in Kyiv to mark Ukraine's Independence Day. • This volatility reflects ongoing investor anxiety regarding the stability of the region and the potential for further escalation in the conflict.

• South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT and the National IT Industry Promotion Agency are seeking a consortium to develop a cybersecurity-specialized AI foundation model. • Applications for the project close on August 26, with SK Telecom, Naver Cloud, LG CNS, and Bidraft expected to compete as consortium leaders. • The winning team will be granted access to 256 B200 GPUs for a period of 10 months to facilitate the development process.

• Wall Street indices remained subdued on Monday as investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of a week filled with high-impact economic events. • Market participants are specifically focusing on upcoming key corporate earnings reports and volatility within the US bond market. • The US Treasury Department is actively working to steady specific segments of the bond market, which showed some signs of easing during the session.

• Asian stocks experienced a slight decline, with the MSCI Asia Pacific equities gauge dipping 0.1% and South Korea's Kospi Index falling 1.2%. • The downturn in the Kospi is particularly significant as the index serves as a primary bellwether for global artificial intelligence investments. • In contrast, US equity-index futures recovered from early losses, with Nasdaq 100 contracts edging up by 0.1%.