US-Canada Trade Talks Collapse as Canada Readies Counter-Tariffs; Bessent's Treasury Twist Meets Resistance, Gold Nears $4,600
24 August 2026
Market Snapshot (Previous Close)
📈 S&P 500 Index 7,674.37 (+0.43%)↑
📈 Straits Times Index 5,688.96 (+0.30%)↑
📉 Nikkei 225 Index 66,016.36 (-0.30%)↓
📈 Gold Spot (XAU) 4,603.07 (+1.91%)↑
🇺🇸🇨🇦 US-Canada trade talks collapsed over fine print in the deal, according to Mark Carney's top US envoy. Canada is striking back with counter-tariffs on US$20 billion of American products starting September 8, after the Trump administration imposed 50% import taxes on items including plywood, liquor, electronics and hockey sticks. The loonie weakened, and Ottawa sees little chance of resuming talks before the US midterms.
🏦 Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's "Treasury twist" - the strategy of expanding buybacks to manage long-end yields - is running into forces beyond his control, with bond yields pushing higher again ahead of the midterms. Traders are now focused on Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's Jackson Hole speech later this week for further direction. Separately, Bessent is preparing to unveil an economic isolation plan on Iran on Monday, which China said risks fueling further strikes by Tehran across the Middle East.
🤖 Alibaba is seeking to raise about HK$80 billion (US$10.2 billion) from a share sale at HK$112.7 apiece to fund its AI expansion; Michael Burry said he sold his Alibaba stake to build a "large" position in JD.com instead. Separately, Nvidia's customers have been told prices for some servers powered by its high-end AI chips will rise by more than 15% early next year, and SoftBank plans to issue ¥1 trillion (US$6.3 billion) of retail bonds - the largest-ever such offering by a Japanese firm.
📈 US equities rose after a tumultuous week for Treasuries, with the Dow up 1.0%, the S&P 500 gaining 0.43% and the Nasdaq adding roughly 0.43%.
🥇 Gold climbed to over US$4,600 an ounce on Friday, its highest level since mid-May, extending weekly gains to around 5% on renewed concerns over US fiscal sustainability following the Treasury's buyback expansion, which pushed bond yields and the dollar lower.
🛢️ Oil edged higher as Yemen's Houthis forced Saudi Arabia to reroute shipments through Egypt and around Africa, more than doubling voyage distances to roughly 17,000 miles. WTI rose 0.26% to US$87.06 and Brent gained 0.7% to US$94.39.
🇯🇵 Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's cabinet support fell 3.5 points to a record-low 50.2%, according to a Kyodo poll. USD/JPY held near 159.01 and Nikkei futures were little changed, down 0.1%. Japan sells 10-year climate transition bonds at 11:35am today.
🇸🇬 Singapore unveiled new childcare benefits at PM Lawrence Wong's National Day Rally speech, with each Singaporean child set to receive almost S$70,000 in direct assistance through age 17, starting with a S$10,000 baby gift. Singapore's July CPI print is due at 1:00pm today.
👀 Market Focus: China's economic expansion strayed further below Beijing's 4.5%-5% annual target at the start of the third quarter, according to Goldman, fueling expectations for monetary easing. Taiwan's July unemployment rate (4:00pm) and money supply (4:20pm) are due, alongside South Korea's July retail sales figures any time through Thursday. Markets will also watch for any fallout from Bessent's Monday Iran announcement and continue tracking the Jackson Hole symposium for signals on the Fed's rate path.
