Finance Evening | Stocks Fall as Oil Nears $100 and the US-Canada Trade War Escalates

📊 North America Markets Today

---

1. Stocks Fall as Oil Nears $100 and the US-Canada Trade War Escalates

Source: Yahoo Finance

U.S. stocks slid on Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.1%, the S&P 500 slipped about 0.5%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.3%. The escalating US-Canada trade war, rising oil prices and inflation jitters took focus, with investors also eyeing the CPI report and Oracle earnings later this week.

Iran said it was close to a deal with Oman to manage traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, pushing Brent crude toward $100 a barrel while U.S. benchmark WTI traded above $93. Ongoing Middle East conflict revived angst about inflation and a possible Federal Reserve rate hike this month.

The same day, Canada imposed tariffs of up to 50% on about $20 billion worth of U.S. goods, targeting dairy, steel and wood products among others. Copper also hit a record, gold came under pressure from rising Treasury yields, and markets priced a 58% chance of a Fed hike.

Source

---

2. Qualcomm Issues $4 Billion in Warrants to Amazon in AI Infrastructure Deal

Source: CNBC

Qualcomm shares rose 3% on Tuesday after the company announced a data center infrastructure partnership with Amazon Web Services, a major win as the chipmaker tries to take on Nvidia in AI. As part of the deal, Qualcomm said in an SEC filing that it issued warrants to Amazon to acquire 25 million shares at $161.26 apiece, worth $4 billion in total.

Qualcomm is working with Amazon across multiple generations of customized silicon to help build out AWS AI infrastructure, focused on inference. In June the company unveiled its Dragonfly C1000 data center CPU and said Meta would use it when production begins in 2028.

The warrants expire on Sept. 3, 2036, and the shares vest in tranches tied to commercial arrangements and the purchase of up to $60 billion of Qualcomm server chips. Bank of America predicts the CPU market could more than double, from $27 billion in 2025 to $60 billion by 2030.

Source

---

3. Novartis Falls 12% on Its Third Trial Setback in a Week

Source: Yahoo Finance

Novartis fell 12.40% premarket after the Swiss drugmaker said del-desiran failed its Phase III HARBOR study in myotonic dystrophy type 1, showing no statistically significant improvement over placebo on hand opening time. It was the company's third setback in a week.

Pelacarsen missed on cardiovascular risk reduction days earlier, and eight trials of the cell therapy rap-cel were paused after three patients died. Del-desiran came with Avidity Biosciences, which Novartis bought for about $12 billion last year.

Novartis reiterated its 5% to 6% average annual sales growth target through 2030, but Barclays pegged del-desiran and pelacarsen together at roughly $5 billion in risk-adjusted peak sales, while Jefferies said the goal may be unattainable without further M&A.

Source

---

4. Canada's Retaliatory Tariffs on the U.S. Take Effect

Source: Xinhua Finance

Canada's countermeasures against U.S. tariffs took effect in the early hours of the 8th. Ottawa began imposing equivalent retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports including steel, dairy products, agricultural equipment, pulp and electronics.

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on the evening of the 7th that the government will hold a cabinet planning meeting in Banff, Alberta, on the 10th and 11th. He said the government will not change course in the face of serious external headwinds.

Canadian media reported that small and medium-sized businesses will be among the biggest victims of this round of the trade war. Dan Kelly, president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, said this round hits struggling small-business owners directly. Trade talks between the two countries broke down in late August, with the U.S. imposing 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods.

Source

---

5. Oil, Gas and Grain Pressures Revive Global Reflation Worries

Source: Xinhua Finance

The years-long global disinflation process is facing a new supply-side shock. Middle East tensions are disrupting crude and natural gas supplies, while a strengthening El Niño threatens global food production, putting simultaneous upward pressure on oil, gas and grain prices.

The UN World Food Programme estimates that this El Niño could add about 49 million acutely food-insecure people across 45 countries by the end of 2027. FAO data shows its August Food Price Index rose to 133.3 points, the highest since November 2022.

The key macro impact is on monetary policy: eurozone inflation rose to 3.3% in August, with a 25-basis-point ECB hike in September now largely priced in. After strong U.S. August jobs data, markets again see roughly a 60% chance of a Fed hike in September.

Source

---

6. Copper Hits a Record High

Source: Economic Daily

On the evening of September 7, London Metal Exchange copper futures climbed to a record high, breaking through $14,530 per tonne and surpassing the previous record set in January.

The same day, China's A-share indexes closed mixed: the Shanghai Composite ended at 3940.55 points, up 0.20%; the Shenzhen Component at 13703.21 points, down 0.52%; and the ChiNext at 3359.72 points, down 1.15%.

Source

---

7. As Social Security Runs Dry, Some Republicans Say It's Time to Raise Taxes

Source: Yahoo News

As the Social Security shortfall looms, some Republicans are breaking with the party's long-standing no-new-taxes pledge. This summer, Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) joined Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) in proposing to raise the payroll tax cap so higher earners pay more.

Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), chair of the House Appropriations Committee, also said he is willing to consider a higher tax rate or lifting the income cap, arguing the political fallout from benefit cuts would be far worse.

The trust fund is projected to run dry in 2032, at which point monthly checks would shrink by about $440 on average unless Congress acts. The program provides monthly cash benefits to more than 70 million Americans.

Source

---

8. Google's Revived Iowa Nuclear Plant Gets a $1.9 Billion U.S. Loan

Source: TechCrunch

Last October Google said it would bring an Iowa nuclear plant back from the dead. Now its owner, NextEra Energy, has received a $1.9 billion loan from the U.S. Department of Energy to finance the refurbishment.

It is the second loan of its kind; last year the DOE extended a $1 billion loan to Constellation Energy to restart a reactor at Three Mile Island. Deputy Energy Secretary James Danly said the Iowa plant's 2029 restart will drive down electricity costs.

Google is reportedly looking to build up to six data centers near the Duane Arnold Energy Center, which has been idle since a rainstorm damaged it in 2020. After refurbishment it will reach 615 megawatts, as shuttered nuclear plants become a favored source of clean, firm power for the AI boom.

Source

---

9. Samsung and TSMC Embrace ASML's $400M Machines and a Key Chipmaking Change

Source: Ars Technica

Samsung Electronics and TSMC announced plans to adopt ASML's latest chipmaking machines in the coming years, joining Intel in agreeing to switch photomasks from 6-inch to 12-inch — a change that could boost chip production on the new machines by 40%.

ASML's high-numerical-aperture EUV machines cost up to $400 million each and are supplied only by the Dutch company. Samsung aims to use them for memory chips by 2028, while TSMC plans to use the technology for its most advanced chips starting in 2030.

Intel has already begun using high-NA EUV in high-volume manufacturing of its Panther Lake processors since July 2026. SK Hynix is also considering joining the consortium overseeing the shift to larger photomasks.

Source

---

10. Retailer Genesco Closes 25 Stores to Boost Profits

Source: Fox Business

Footwear retailer Genesco Inc. is shuttering more than two dozen underperforming stores to reduce its physical footprint, cut overhead and boost profitability. The Nashville-based company is the parent of Journeys, Johnston & Murphy and U.K.-based Schuh.

With three new openings, the net reduction brought its store fleet to 1,186 — a 5% drop in retail space from a year earlier. Journeys, Schuh and Johnston & Murphy accounted for 17, six and two closures, respectively. Net sales fell 3% to $530 million, but adjusted gross margin expanded 140 basis points to 47.2%.

Flagship brand Journeys posted a 2% comparable sales gain, its eighth consecutive quarter of growth, while Johnston & Murphy grew 4%. The company also slashed total debt from $71 million to $15.8 million and raised its full-year earnings guidance to the high end of its $2 to $2.40 per share range.

Source