📊 Macroeconomics

• The August monthly US core inflation reading surprised markets with a higher-than-expected figure, fueling hawkish concerns about a return of price pressures. Additionally, the unofficial SuperCore inflation reading rose by 0.5% MoM, bringing the annual reading to 3%
• Although these data almost seal an interest rate hike by the Fed at the upcoming meeting, Wall Street investors seem to ignore this threat.
• At the same time in Europe, the prospect of strong monetary policy tightening by the ECB remains, while in Poland the market expects a rather long pause.
• Finance chiefs of the BRICS bloc countries called for urgent reforms in global development finance institutions. Their goal is to significantly reduce the current dominance of traditional, Western financial systems in the world. These actions are aimed at strengthening the economic sovereignty of developing countries and diversifying global capital sources.
• US household net worth recorded an impressive increase of $12.803 trillion in the second quarter. This result confirms the exceptionally strong balance sheet position of American consumers. Despite ongoing macroeconomic challenges and high interest rates, the US private sector shows strong resilience to economic turmoil.

📈 Stock Market & Companies

• US stock indices recorded a dynamic rebound, breaking a four-day losing streak. Investors decided to ignore the hawkish implications of the US inflation report, focusing their attention on falling oil prices. Wall Street sentiment was also supported by successful earnings presentations from tech giants. This market stance suggests that risk appetite remains strong despite pressure from monetary policy.
• Earnings season brought significant excitement thanks to reports from tech leaders, led by Oracle, which gained due to a 30% increase in total revenue and an astounding 121% growth in the cloud infrastructure segment driven by artificial intelligence projects.
• Meanwhile, shares of Dell gained strongly following a positive recommendation from RBC, which highlighted AI server sales worth $16.4 billion in the second quarter.
• Weaker sentiment surrounded Adobe, which, despite delivering solid results, failed to meet high market expectations, sparking investor concerns over the impact of artificial intelligence on its future. These divergent reactions demonstrate how selectively the market is currently approaching tech valuations.
• European trading floors saw prevailing gains, although over the whole week indices recorded noticeable losses due to persistent inflation concerns. The domestic market also took a shallow breath, with the WIG20 index strongly supported by solid performance from Budimex shares.
• American electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla announced the official European market debut of its Semi electric truck. The company intends to challenge traditional manufacturers in the highly important freight transport sector in the Old Continent. Investors received this information with moderate optimism, hoping for the opening of a new revenue stream.
• As of 19:44, the S&P 500 is up 1.0%, losing 0.49% for the week, while DE40 rises 0.93%, losing 1.93% on a weekly basis, whereas WIG20 gains 0.68%, up 1.38% over the week, and Dow Jones logs a 1.1% gain, down 1.14% for the week, while Tesla gains 0.55% with a 3.3% weekly increase, and Meta rises 0.83%, gaining 5.32% over the week.

🛢️ Commodities

• Crude oil prices recorded a sharp downward correction exceeding 4% today, driven by intensive profit-taking.
• These declines occurred despite a serious escalation of geopolitical tensions in the Persian Gulf, where rebels damaged a key Saudi East-West pipeline.
• Additionally, the International Energy Agency lowered its 2026 global supply forecast by 1.4 million barrels per day, which under normal conditions would support the upside. This situation shows how strong technical pressure weighed on oil prices following earlier, dynamic gains.
• Precious metals saw a strong session, recovering earlier losses triggered by the hawkish US inflation reading. Silver prices rebounded sharply from a 3-week low, returning to around $64.45 per ounce. Gold also managed to avoid a deeper breakdown following CPI data, reclaiming the key 100-day simple moving average. Investors currently treat bullion as a safe haven amid rising global geopolitical risk.
• Corn and other grain prices declined following the publication of the latest, widely commented WASDE report. Although the US Department of Agriculture lowered this year's crop yield forecasts, final ending stocks in the US at 1,567 million bushels came in significantly higher than market expectations of 1,521.5 million bushels. This oversupply exerted immediate downward pressure on commodity exchanges.
• As a result of escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, supertanker freight rates on the key route connecting the region with China surged to an astronomical $800,000 per day. In response to these disruptions, the US administration is considering using the Defense Production Act to stimulate and boost domestic refining capacity. This situation directly hits global energy supply chains.
• Agricultural and industrial commodity markets are preparing for the arrival of El Niño, which historically triggers strong global price swings. At the same time, copper prices remain at very high historical levels, confirming its elevated z-score. Analysts are closely watching the metal for signals coming from global industry and the energy transition.
• As of 19:44, gold gains 1.04%, down 1.54% for the week, while silver is up 1.44%, down 2.6% weekly, whereas WTI crude loses 3.95%, gaining 9.44% overall for the week, and Brent crude falls 4.05%, up 9.07% on a weekly basis, while copper gains 0.5%, losing 0.92% for the week, and corn loses 0.71%, with a 2.01% weekly decline.

💱 Currencies

• The single currency showed weakness following the European Central Bank's decision to hike interest rates, which failed to provide the euro with the expected upward momentum.
• The EURUSD pair slid lower, and selling pressure also pushed EURGBP down toward 0.8580. The lack of a hawkish surprise from the ECB weighed on the single currency throughout the session.
• The British pound performed significantly stronger, successfully resisting the wave of US dollar strengthening following CPI inflation data. Positive signals regarding UK economic growth rates served as an impetus supporting the pound. Investors view the UK GDP prospects favorably compared to other European economies.
• As of 19:44, EURUSD loses 0.01%, down 0.05% for the week, while GBPUSD gains 0.15%, up 0.08% on a weekly basis.

🪙 Cryptocurrencies

• Buyers had the upper hand in the crypto market today, led clearly by Ethereum, which recovered losses from previous days. Market leader Bitcoin remained stable, staying in the shadow of the ongoing halving cycle. Some analysts believe the worst phase of the bear market for this asset may be behind us.
• The Zcash token continued its strong appreciation, drawing special investor attention due to extreme technical readings. Its 5-year z-score reached a rarely seen, extreme value of +5.12, clearly indicating deep overbought conditions in the medium term. Such a high level carries an elevated risk of a sharp downward correction.
• As of 19:44, bitcoin gains 0.63%, losing 2.93% for the week, while ethereum rises 4.58%, gaining 2.48% on a weekly basis.

🌍 Geopolitics

• Iran-backed Houthi rebels took full control of the strategic island of Perim, giving them direct oversight of the Bab al-Mandab Strait. This key maritime artery is of fundamental importance for global shipping and international crude oil supplies. These actions pose a direct threat to maritime safety in the Red Sea.
• The US Treasury Secretary announced that as early as next Monday, the United States will impose new, severe sanctions on a major financial institution. This decision is part of Washington's broader global strategy targeting Iran's finances directly. The move aims to limit Tehran's ability to fund militant groups in the region.
• Israeli armed forces announced the complete destruction of a massive underground command center belonging to Hezbollah. The explosion triggered by the operation was powerful enough for US geological systems to register tremors equivalent to a 4.1 magnitude earthquake. This event drastically raises tensions in the Middle East conflict.

🔍 Suggested to Watch

• Zcash — Due to an extreme 5-year z-score of +5.12, this asset is in a critically overbought zone, posing significant risk of a deep correction in the near term.
• Brent Crude — Despite strong geopolitical drivers such as attacks on the pipeline in Saudi Arabia, the commodity suffered a deep drop of over 4%, pointing to strong technical demand for profit-taking after a weekly gain of 7.61%.
• Copper — This metal remains near historic highs with a 5-year z-score of +2.65, making it a key barometer to watch for industrial demand and the energy transition.
• Ethereum — Today's gain leader in crypto demonstrated strong relative strength against Bitcoin, which could signal a local rotation of capital into altcoins worth monitoring closely in upcoming sessions.