Global TradFi & Macroeconomics

According to CNBC, on August 17, Wells Fargo raised its investment rating on cloud identity and access management (IAM) leader Okta (NAS:OKTA) to Overweight and increased its price target from $150 to $180, analyst Richard Paleland said. Wells Fargo's proprietary survey found that major

According to Korean Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) filings, Shinhan Investment Securities posted 74.83 billion Korean won in operating profit in the first half of 2026, up 134% from 31.85 billion Korean won in the same period last year. All business divisions showed balanced growth, with the

Piper Sandler analyst Patrick Moley initiated Overweight coverage of fintech firm SoFi Technologies (NAS:SOFI) with a $22 price target on August 17, according to CNBC. The target implies approximately 20% upside from the prior close. The rating marks the bank's entry into coverage, citing SoFi's

Japan's 10-year government bond yield rose 2.5 basis points to 2.945% today, reaching its highest level since September 1996.

According to China Financial News, international gold prices surged past $4,400 per ounce on August 17 evening after months of volatility. ICBC Standard Bank strategist Julia Du forecast that gold prices will reach $7,150 per ounce this year, with a full-year average target of $6,050. UBS Chief

South Korean retail investors net bought $4.5 billion in U.S. stocks in July while net selling domestic stocks for most of last week, according to Korea Securities Depository data. The shift occurred as Korea's benchmark index entered bull market territory and overseas investors became net buyers of

Jefferies initiated coverage on Freenome (NAS:FRNM), a biotech company specializing in blood-based early cancer detection technology, with a Buy rating and $17 price target on the 17th US local time. Analyst Tycho Peterson highlighted that Freenome will begin full-scale commercialization of its

According to CNBC, Jefferies analyst Tyco Peterson initiated coverage of biotech Prenotm (NASDAQ: FRNM) on August 17 with a "buy" rating and a $17 price target. The analyst highlighted the company's planned commercial launch of blood-based cancer diagnostic services beginning this fall,

According to Korea Securities Depository data, Korean retail investors net purchased $4.5 billion in U.S. stocks in July while simultaneously selling domestic equities, marking a sharp reversal from June and reflecting capital flight ahead of a potential correction at home. Of the inflows,

According to Securities Daily, citing chief macroeconomic analyst Wang Qing of Orient Credit Rating, the People's Bank of China launched overnight reverse repo operations in mid-August as seven-day reverse repo operations reached zero over recent trading days. Wang indicated this reflects more

According to ANZ, Australian consumer confidence rose 1.5 points to 76.5, reaching its highest level since early March. Meanwhile, Australian consumers' inflation expectations increased by 0.1 percentage point to 5.8%.

JPMorgan Chase raised its price target on Riot Platforms (Nasdaq: RIOT) to $22 from $20 on Aug. 17. The bank maintained its Overweight rating while citing a recently signed lease with AI company Anthropic at 'attractive economics.' JPMorgan added that Riot's separate lease with chipmaker Advanced

According to BlockBeats and HTX market data, on August 18, the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding expired Monday with bilateral tensions persisting over disputes including the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. officials indicated no urgency to resolve the conflict, which has lasted nearly six

According to JPMorgan's Aug. 17 research note, the bank raised its price target on Riot Platforms (RIOT) to $22 from $20, maintaining an Overweight rating. JPMorgan cited Riot's momentum, pointing to a recently signed $9 billion, 20-year compute lease with AI company Anthropic. The deal

The USD-KRW exchange rate recorded 1,415.60 won at 6 AM on August 18, up 2.60 won from the previous Seoul session close of 1,413.00 won. The pair moved around the mid-1,410 won level during thin trading on the substitute holiday for Liberation Day. Movements were driven by yen

Meritz Securities is preparing to establish its first overseas office in Hong Kong in the second half of this year, according to reports on the 18th from the Korean financial investment industry. The firm is advancing related procedures with a goal of launching the Hong Kong entity this year,

According to Yonhapinfomax, on August 17, U.S. stock indices fell for a second consecutive day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 272.63 points (0.51%) to 53,459.78, the S&P 500 fell 40.70 points (0.52%) to 7,745.06, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 84.25 points (0.32%) to 26,644.91. The 30-

According to the financial investment industry, Meritz Securities plans to establish its first overseas subsidiary in Hong Kong in the second half of 2026, with the possibility of being delayed to 2027 depending on local regulatory approval. The Hong Kong office will focus on brokerage services, in

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix rose in pre-market trading as of 8:01 AM, with Samsung up 2.37% to 281,000 won and SK Hynix up 3.95% to 1.71 million won according to alternative exchange Nextrade. The gains occurred despite overnight declines in US stocks due to US-Iran tensions and rising long-ter

According to Hana Securities analyst Kim Rok-ho, South Korean memory chipmakers showed recovery on August 18, driven by expectations for Q3 memory price strength and accelerating high-bandwidth memory (HBM4) shipments. The analyst forecast stable stock momentum ahead of Nvidia's earnings report on A