North American Morning Briefing: Stock Futures Steady, Global Bonds Stabilize Ahead of Fed Minutes

Stock futures were steady Wednesday as global bond yields pulled back

from multiyear highs and investors awaited the Federal Reserve's July meeting minutes.

The minutes "are likely to attract abnormally high attention given the large reaction to Warsh's messaging from the U.S. long-end [long-dated Treasurys] after that meeting," RBC Capital Markets said.

According to the CME FedWatch tool, investors have significantly scaled back expectations of rate hikes after the latest economic data, and are now pricing in a 67% probability of a hold.

Oil prices rose for a fourth day and remained above $90 a barrel as Middle East tensions continued to escalate and peace talks remained stalled.

"We are concerned about the development in the Middle East and see no easy way out of the current situation," Jefferies said. "Iran is likely to exert more pressure on the U.S. knowing [President] Trump's weakness going into the mid-terms."

Meanwhile, investors will keep an eye on earnings as Target is set to post its financial results for the second quarter before the opening bell.

Stocks to watch

La-Z-Boy slumped 19% in premarket trading after the furniture maker swung to a loss in its fiscal first quarter from an unexpected decline in sales.

SK Hynix announced plans for a $28 billion buyback. Its U.S.-listed shares jumped in premarket trading. Earlier, its Korean shares closed nearly 10% lower amid a selloff in Asia.

Target, Lowe's, TJX, Analog Devices, Viking Holdings, Estee Lauder: The companies are set to report earnings ahead of the opening bell.

Watch For:

EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report, Target 2Q earnings

Today's Top Headlines/Must Reads:

- Big Food Is Fighting to Tempt Taste Buds in the Era of Weight-Loss Drugs

- Why Canada's Booze Ban Is Such a Sore Point in Trade Talks

- Inside Big Tech's Frantic Race to Quell the Growing Backlash to AI

MARKET WRAPS Forex:

The dollar fell as investors turned cautious ahead of the release of the Fed minutes later.

The euro traded flat. The currency's rise against the dollar is likely to remain contained amid elevated European natural gas prices and ahead of the Fed's meeting minutes, ING said.

Sterling stayed higher against the dollar and held steady versus the euro, little moved after data showed U.K. inflation accelerated in line with expectations.

Bonds:

Treasury yields declined in early trade, providing some relief after Tuesday's bond selloff and amid a stalemate in the Middle East.

Energy:

In early European trading, Brent crude was up 0.2%, while WTI futures rose 0.3%.

Metals:

Gold prices slipped as investors awaited the release of the Fed's July meeting minutes for fresh clues on its monetary policy outlook.

Copper

Copper prices fell back below $14,000 as fresh deliveries into London warehouses eased fears of a supply squeeze.

Warehouse stocks increased by 20,025 metric tons in one day, the biggest daily increase since April, and have now risen for six days in a row, according to ING.

Iron ore

Iron ore futures were higher following their recent correction. The ferrous metal continued to be constrained by weak China demand, ANZ Research said.

TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES

SK Hynix Plans More Than $28 Billion Share Buyback

SK Hynix plans to buy back and cancel more than $28 billion of its shares over the next three months, accelerating its shareholder-return program via what it says would be South Korea's largest stock buyback.

The world's second-largest memory chip maker, which supplies high-bandwidth memory products to Nvidia, said that the planned share repurchase is part of its commitment to return to shareholders more than 50% of its cumulative free cash flow over the three years through 2027.

OpenAI's Second-Quarter Sales Show Tepid Growth Compared With Anthropic

OpenAI told investors its revenue grew by 18% from the first to the second quarter, while its losses deepened, results that disappointed some shareholders who had hoped the startup would show more progress catching up to rival Anthropic.

The company said its revenue grew to $6.7 billion in the three months ended in June, up from $5.7 billion in the first quarter. Meanwhile, its operating margin sank further into the red, pushing the company farther away from profitability ahead of a much-anticipated initial public offering, people familiar with the matter said.

China's Unitree Soars in Debut as Investors Bet Big on Robotics

Chinese humanoid-robot maker Unitree surged in its trading debut as investors snapped up shares of a company seen as a champion of Beijing's push to dominate robotics.

Unitree, which just showcased a robot that broke world records for jumping and sprinting, vaulted more than sixfold in Shanghai on Wednesday morning, giving the startup a market value of about $53 billion.

Hong Kong's Exchange Operator Posts Record Quarter, Beats Estimates

Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing reported record profit and revenue for the second quarter as trading and listing activity in the Asian financial hub continued to gain momentum.

The stock-exchange operator said Wednesday that net profit rose 21% from a year earlier to 5.38 billion Hong Kong dollars, equivalent to US$685.8 million. That topped the HK$4.77 billion consensus estimate of analysts in a Visible Alpha poll.

Global Government Bond Yields Stabilize Ahead of Fed Minutes

Global government bonds stabilized on Wednesday, taking a breather from Tuesday's steep selloff ahead of the release of the Federal Reserve's minutes from July's meeting.

Factors driving this week's bond selloff, which lifted yields to multiyear highs, haven't gone away, however.

U.K. Inflation Surges as Iran War Threatens Further Price Pressures

U.K. inflation jumped in July, driven by a rise in energy charges that could push the pace of price increases even further above the Bank of England's target in the months to come.

Consumer prices rose 2.9% in July from a year earlier, up from 2.6% in June, the Office for National Statistics said Wednesday. That is the highest annual inflation rate since March, when prices spiked following the outbreak of the war in Iran.

Bank Indonesia Holds Rates Steady as Rupiah Pressure Eases

Indonesia's central bank stood pat again Wednesday as the rupiah stabilizes and it gauges the impact of prior interest-rate hikes.

Bank Indonesia kept its benchmark seven-day reverse repo rate unchanged at 5.75%, in line with expectations and following back-to-back tightening in May and June.

Trump Pauses 50% Tariff on Some Canadian Products

President Trump said he would pause a 50% tariff on certain goods from Canada for three days while the two countries seek to finalize an agreement.

"I have paused the 50% Tariffs against Canada, that were scheduled to kick in tomorrow morning for a three-day period, based on the fact that Canada and the U.S.A., subject to the finalization of documents, have a DEAL!" Trump said on social media Tuesday night.

Iran's Attacks on Ships in Hormuz Mount, Testing U.S. Military Restraint

DUBAI-Iranian attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz are piling up without an American military response, raising the risks of crossing the strategic waterway and frustrating some Arab allies who worry the U.S. doesn't have a strategy to wind down the conflict.

Iran fired two ballistic missiles toward the strait on Tuesday, triggering air defenses in the United Arab Emirates, according to that country's Ministry of Defense, which said the missiles were targeting maritime traffic but ultimately fell into the sea.

Syria Takes Major Step to Come Clean on Past Nuclear Program

Syria took a major step in clearing up its one-time suspected nuclear weapons program, allowing U.N. atomic inspectors to verify nuclear material believed to have been stored in the country for at least two decades.

Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, led a team on Tuesday which checked the presence of uranium metal at a site that Damascus disclosed just last month. Syria's new leadership agreed to place the material under future agency oversight. Uranium metal can be used as fuel in a reactor or as a key component of a nuclear warhead.

Trump Taps Dr. Heidi Overton to Lead FDA

President Trump has selected one of his top White House health aides, Dr. Heidi Overton, as his next choice to lead the Food and Drug Administration, people familiar with the matter said.

Overton, who helps lead the Domestic Policy Council, has guided many of the health policies of Trump's second term and was by the president's side earlier this month as he signed a new executive order to pare back the list of recommended childhood vaccines and tied immunization to autism-a connection scientists say doesn't exist.

Write to priscila.barrera@wsj.com

TODAY IN CANADA Earnings:

Nothing major scheduled

Economic Indicators (ET):

0830 Jun Employment Insurance Stocks to Watch:

Allied Gold Announces Addition of Joanna Pearson to Bd of Directors

IM Cannabis Bd. Approved 30-to-1 Share Consolidation; Board Has Authorized the Consolidation to Be Effected on or Before Sept 15; Currently Expecting Aug 27 to Be the Effective Date of the Consolidation

Lundin Mining Chile Ops Affected by Second Severe Winter Storm; CEO: Revised Guidance to Reflect Extended Recovery Period; Revised Caserones 2026 Copper Production Guidance to 120,000 Tons-130,000 Tons From 130,000 Tons-140,000 Tons; Continue to Expect Candelaria to Meet FY Production Guidance

Expected Major Events for Wednesday 06:00/UK: Jul Producer Price Index

06:00/UK: Jul CPI

08:30/UK: Jun UK House Price Index

09:00/ITA: Jun Balance of Payments

11:00/US: 08/14 MBA Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey

12:30/CAN: Jun Employment Insurance

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August 19, 2026 06:16 ET (10:16 GMT)

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