World Street | Wall Street rally falters, OpenAI-Condé Nast partnership, EU cuts Tesla tariffs, and more

World Street offers sneak peak into top global news developments

In top global developments, the rally on Wall Street has lost momentum, impacting Asia-Pacific markets, while bond yields soften on hopes of a September rate cut. For more details, check out the August 21 edition of World Street!

Rally falters; Jackson Hole eyed

Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite snapped their longest winning streaks since late 2023, with the S&P 500 dipping 0.2 percent and the Nasdaq sliding 0.33 percent. The Dow Jones also fell 0.15 percent. Wall Street is now focused on the minutes from the Fed’s July meeting and eagerly awaits Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s remarks at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium on August 23, where he may offer insights into the Fed’s next rate decision in September.

Weak Wall Street disappoint others

Asia-Pacific markets fell this morning, tracking Wall Street as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite ended their eight-day winning streak. Japan's July trade data showed exports rising 10.3 percent and imports up 16.6 percent, widening the trade deficit to 621.84 billion yen, much higher than expected. This led to a 0.75 percent drop in Japan’s Nikkei 225 and a 0.54 percent decline in the Topix. South Korea’s Kospi also slipped 0.18 percent, while Kosdaq fell 0.66 percent, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 decreased by 0.28 percent.

US yields cool off

US treasury yields fell overnight as traders prepared fo release of Federal Reserve meeting minutes and the upcoming central bank symposium. The yield on the 10-year Treasury dropped nearly 5 basis points to 3.8 percent, while the 2-year Treasury yield decreased by around 7 basis points to 3.9 percent. Markets continue to fully price in a Fed rate cut in September, though the odds of a 50 basis-point reduction have been slashed to just 26.5 percent, according to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.

Race to the top

Vice President Kamala Harris has raised nearly $500 million for her White House bid in the month since President Joe Biden withdrew from the race and endorsed her as his successor, showed a news report. This substantial sum includes contributions to Harris’ campaign and various affiliated fundraising entities, the report said. Democrats expect this figure to grow to approximately $600 million by the end of August.

Copyright clash

Anthropic, an Amazon-backed artificial intelligence startup, was hit with a class-action lawsuit in California federal court, accused of copyright infringement. The lawsuit comes on the heels of Anthropic’s June debut of its most powerful AI model to date, Claude 3.5 Sonnet. Claude, like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, is one of the chatbots that have surged in popularity over the past year. Anthropic, founded by former OpenAI research executives, is also backed by Google and Salesforce.

EV aimbitions

General Motors’ premium GMC brand is setting its sights on becoming the leader in all-electric truck sales in the US with the launch of its new electric Sierra pickup. This model joins GMC's electric truck lineup, which includes electric versions of the Hummer SUV and pickup. GMC expects the Sierra to become its top-selling electric vehicle as it introduces lower-priced variants next year. The high-end 'Edition 1,' priced around $100,000, has recently started to be delivered to customers.

EU concessions

The European Union announced it would lower the planned tariffs on Tesla vehicles imported from China to 9 percent from the previously proposed 20.8 percent, and also reduce import duties on other electric vehicle manufacturers. In June, the EU had proposed higher tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, citing concerns that they benefit significantly from unfair subsidies and could harm European EV producers.

Content collaboration

OpenAI announced a partnership with Condé Nast, allowing its AI products, including ChatGPT and SearchGPT, to feature content from Condé Nast publications such as Vogue, The New Yorker, and Vanity Fair. The SearchGPT prototype will provide direct links to news stories, with plans to integrate these features into ChatGPT in the future.

(with inputs from Reuters and other agencies)