Market UpdatesAug 13, 20262 Min
Global market wrap: Asian stocks advance; Kospi in a technical bull market
We are back with quick updates on developments around global stock markets, commodities and companies that are creating buzz today.
Asian stocks mostly gained on Thursday amid positive cues from Wall Street after July’s consumer price index came in as expected in the country.
Headline inflation rose by just 0.1% in July on the month, while the annual inflation rate landed at 3.4%, fuelling hopes that the US Federal Reserve may still find itself to be in a position to leave rates unchanged next month.
As markets cheered the development, South Korea’s benchmark Kospi moved into a technical bull market on Thursday. The Kospi jumped over 4% in early trade, taking its rebound from its July 30 low to roughly 23%. The turnaround was attributed to a revival in the AI trade that pulled out Kospi from last month’s historic sell-off.
Japan’s Nikkei index also rose 1.7% on Thursday to trade at 68,699. China’s Shanghai Composite index was trading higher by 0.4% to 3,963, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index inched up just around 0.07% to 25,459.
However, Singapore’s Straits Times fell 0.5% to 5,690. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was also down 0.5% to 9,161.
US stock futures were trading flat again on Thursday as investors awaited fresh inflation data on the US producer price index that is set for release later in the day along with retail sales data that will be out on Friday. S&P 500 futures inched up 0.06%, Nasdaq 100 futures rose slightly by 0.09%, while futures tied to the Dow were down 0.04%.
In the regular trading session on Wednesday, the S&P 500 index gained 0.26%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.04%, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.54%.
Oil prices took a breather on Thursday on demand concerns. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) reduced the forecast for global oil demand growth in 2026 to 580,000 bpd. IEA also said that it expected oil consumption to drop to 1.6 million bpd this year.
The US crude oil futures for September delivery were down 0.7% to $82.67 per barrel by 0003 EDT, while Brent futures for October delivery dropped 0.5% to $88.51 per barrel.
Gold prices also traded marginally lower on Thursday despite tame inflation data. Spot gold declined 0.3% to $4,396 per ounce by 0403 GMT, while US gold futures for December delivery lost 0.3% to $4,454 per ounce.
Here’s a look at the key developments of the day:
Samsonite acquires lifestyle brand BÉIS; stock jumps over 7%
Shares of Hong Kong-listed luggage maker Samsonite Group jumped over 7% on Thursday after the company announced that it had agreed to acquire an 85% stake in US-based lifestyle and travel brand Béis Llc for $178.5 million.
Béis generated approximately $210 million in revenue in 2025. Lifestyle bag categories comprise approximately 50% of the company’s sales. Also, the brand has a social media following of over 1.4 million on Instagram.
Cerebras stock slides 14% on weak earnings projections
Shares of Cerebras Systems Inc. plunged 14% in extended trading hours on Wednesday after the company’s earnings projections disappointed investors.
The company projected slower growth than some investors had anticipated. It said that core revenue will be about $215 million in the current quarter. Though that topped the $212 million average estimate, some predictions exceeded $220 million.
Cerebras also raised its full-year outlook and now expects core revenue of $880-890 million, up from a prior range of $855-865 million.
Cisco’s stock drops 4% despite strong earnings
Shares of Cisco Systems Inc. dropped over 4% in extended trading on Wednesday even as the company reported a better-than-expected earnings report.
Cisco also issued an earnings forecast for the current period that exceeded expectations, while offering strong guidance for the full year.
Revenue climbed 18% in the latest quarter from $14.7 billion a year earlier. Meanwhile, net income increased 51% to $3.9 billion from $2.6 billion a year ago.
Singapore’s Singtel Q1 profit drops nearly 72%
Singtel reported a 71.6% decline in its first-quarter net profit to $818 million from $2.88 billion the previous year.
The group attributed the dip to exceptional gains from the sale of a partial stake in Airtel and the Intouch-Gulf Energy merger in the same quarter in 2025.
The group’s operating revenue grew 4.9%, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) jumped 8.7% during the quarter.
Japan wholesale inflation eases slightly to 7.2%
The rise in producer prices in Japan eased slightly to 7.2% in July compared with a year ago. This was lower than the consensus expectation of 7.4% and also from the revised 7.3% seen in June.
Data showed that electricity prices were the largest contributor to the producer price index (PPI) in July, adding 0.23 percentage point to the increase compared to June. Though this was partly offset by a drop in prices in energy and chemicals.
Shein said to consider August 28 for listing in Hong Kong
According to a report, Shein Global Holdings Ltd plans to start taking investor orders for its Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) as soon as August 20 and debut in the city around August 28.
Shein had been targeting a valuation of about $30 billion in the IPO but has faced pushback from investors and may lower it further. The report added that existing shareholders may take up as much as about half of the deal.
