Home Depot’s sales improved during its fiscal second quarter as customers spent more during the summer months and concentrated on smaller projects. Revenue for the Atlanta-based company increased to $47.86 billion from $45.28 billion. Wall Street was calling for $47.24 billion. Sales at stores open at least a year, a key indicator of a retailer’s health, climbed 1.7%. In the U.S., comparable store sales rose 1.3%.

U.S. stock index futures fell on Tuesday, with S&P 500 and Nasdaq contracts under pressure as geopolitical strains flared after U.S.-Iran peace hopes faded. Brent crude climbed to a three-week high and the 30-year U.S. Treasury yield touched its highest level since 2007, weighing on growth shares. Technology stocks led declines, with Tesla and Nvidia among the biggest laggards, while the VIX jumped, reflecting elevated investor anxiety.

On Aug. 17, the US 30-year Treasury yield briefly hit 5.314% and ended at 5.2954%, its first move above 5.3% since June 2007. A Galaxy report published the same day said crypto-collateralized lending has fallen by more than $22 billion from its peak. Despite softer economic data, traders cut the odds of a September Fed move to about 31% from 55% a week earlier while long-end yields continued to climb. Bitcoin traded as high as $64,610.01 intraday.

KPJ Healthcare reported a 27% year-on-year rise in second-quarter net profit to RM104mil, while revenue increased 17% to RM1,197mil. The group said the performance was supported by a 10% increase in inpatient admissions and a 12% rise in surgeries. It also posted higher revenue per patient as its case mix shifted toward more complex care, lifting its Patami margin to 9%.

Gulshan Polyols reported FY26 results with net profit up 332% year on year to ₹1,071.5 crore. Revenue rose 14.5% to ₹2,312.4 crore and EBITDA increased 130.7% to ₹2,314.3 crore. The dividend per share was unchanged at ₹1.50, while the stock traded at a P/E of 8.0x and ROCE of 7.64% as of August 17, 2026.

Polymarket data put the CLARITY Act market at about 20% Yes. An anonymous trader holds a No position worth about $414,895, roughly 2.6 times the $160,200 in displayed liquidity. The account deposited about $499,999 in USDC and spent roughly $398,122 across three trades to build 515,398 No shares, leaving about $101,877 unspent. With limited depth, a single large order could materially reprice the odds.

The U.S. Climate Prediction Center puts the odds of a super El Niño in the northern hemisphere autumn and winter of 2026 to 2027 at more than 90%, a pattern that typically lasts nine to 12 months and can reshape global rainfall and temperature. WisdomTree said every strong El Niño over the past 55 years has cut cocoa output. Cocoa prices nearly tripled in 2024 after West Africa’s harvest failed, eventually topping $12,000 per metric ton. India expects monsoon rainfall this year to be its lowest in 11 years at about 90% of the long-term average, while Hedgepoint estimates even a moderate El Niño could cut Indian sugar production by around 1 million metric tons.

Ethereum-based DeFi protocol OLY is set to open its token mint on Aug. 28, structuring rewards around protocol revenue rather than ongoing token issuance. The system routes income to stakers, liquidity, ETH-based vaults and OLY buybacks and burns. Market sellers start with a dynamic 10% fee that is designed to step down to 4% as market capitalization rises, while limit orders carry a 2% fee and some liquidity exits are fee-free. Of ETH revenue, 34% is allocated to a staked ETH vault, 16% each to liquidity defense, a liquidity vault, direct staker payments and OLY buyback-and-burn, with the remaining 2% going to Genesis.