In Asian markets, the dollar held steady as traders looked ahead to crucial inflation reports, particularly the US PCE data set to be released before the Jackson Hole symposium this weekend. Meanwhile, oil prices dipped due to easing tensions in the Middle East and halted diplomatic negotiations. The Australian dollar strengthened following favorable inflation figures, while cryptocurrencies continued their upward trajectory, and gold saw a minor decline.

Spot gold was little changed at $4,654.17 an ounce after touching a more than three-month high, while US gold futures rose 0.4% to $4,711.40. Markets are focused on upcoming US inflation data for clues on the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate path, with traders pricing a 60.4% chance of no change next month, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. Spot silver rose 0.2% to $68.80, platinum added 0.1% to $1,858.91 and palladium climbed 1.1% to $1,341.23.

Nexus REIT units are trading at a 40% discount to net asset value and offer an 8.1% monthly distribution yield. Second-quarter net operating income rose 6.2% year over year to $34.1 million. Portfolio occupancy increased to 97%. The REIT holds 87 properties totaling 12.3 million square feet of gross leasable area, with a 6.7-year weighted average lease term and in-place rents that are 14.9% below market levels.

Domino’s Pizza Enterprises (ASX:DMP) reported FY26 revenue of A$2.046 billion, down 11.2% year on year, and a statutory net loss of A$134.2 million. The company said the loss was driven mainly by non-cash impairments tied to its France and Taiwan operations. Underlying net profit rose 4.0% to A$121.6 million, while underlying EBITDA fell 6.1% to A$325.4 million. It declared a final dividend of 32.5 Australian cents per share, with the full-year dividend down 25.3%.

Bloom Energy raised the midpoint of its 2026 revenue outlook to $4.05 billion, 26.6% above where management started the year. Second-quarter revenue topped $1.0 billion for the first time, up 165.5% year over year, prompting a second increase to full-year guidance of $3.9bn—$4.2bn. Oracle has contracted 1.2 GW under an agreement supporting up to 2.8 GW, exceeding the 1 GW Fremont capacity the company disclosed earlier this year as it expands toward 2 GW.

U.S. federal debt has surpassed $40 trillion, with annual interest costs of about $1 trillion—around 20% of federal tax revenue—fueling concerns about the sustainability of government borrowing. Investors have increasingly shifted toward alternative assets, with gold up more than 14% over the past month and bitcoin breaking $80,000, while the S&P 500 has gained just over 3.5% in the same period. The Treasury has said it will at least double the size of its debt buybacks to $4 billion.

Global benchmark Brent crude fell as much as 6% intraday as markets reassessed the Iran conflict, shifting from fears of military escalation to expectations of economic pressure, which quickly reduced the geopolitical risk premium. Canada then announced retaliatory tariffs of 15% to 50% on about $20 billion of U.S. goods. The trade escalation intensified concerns about slowing growth, further weakening the oil demand outlook.

A major short squeeze swept the crypto market, liquidating more than $2.7 billion in short positions over 24 hours, including over $1 billion in Bitcoin shorts. The forced buying pushed Bitcoin above $71,000. Crypto-linked equities rose in tandem, with Strategy (MSTR) shares gaining 7.8% on Aug. 20 and 6.1% on Aug. 21.