Global Markets This Week: Aug 25-29, 2026
1. STOCKS - Mixed, Waiting on Nvidia + Fed
Global markets are in a holding pattern this week.
• US: Started the week mixed - Nasdaq dragged 0.8% lower by chip stocks, Dow up 0.3%. Focus is on Nvidia earnings Wednesday and Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's first speech at Jackson Hole Friday.
• Europe: STOXX ended flat at 654.21 with pressure from technology, yields and oil falling.
• Asia/India: Sensex flat, Nifty slipped as global cues improve. Japan BOJ may raise rates to 1.25% in September.
• Flows: Investors still bullish - poured $21.15 billion into global equity funds for week ended Aug 5, the 11th straight week of inflows, after Amazon posted strongest cloud growth in 4+ years and Caterpillar/Palantir beat.
Big driver: Oil and bond yields falling is easing financial conditions, but Iran/Strait of Hormuz tension is keeping oil choppy.
2. CRYPTO - Profit-Taking After Huge Rally
• Bitcoin: Trading around $78,768 today, down 0.9% in 24h. Earlier this week it reclaimed $80k for first time since mid-May, up 24% in 5 days on dollar debasement fears and hopes for the US Clarity Act.
• After a 23% weekly rally, BTC slipped to $79k as traders took profit. CryptoQuant Bull Score hit 80, highest since Oct 2025.
• Ethereum: Around $2,455 down 1.4% today, but headed for best week since Jan 2021 with +26% on the week.
• Headwinds: $114M Coldcard hardware wallet exploit shook self-custody confidence. Citigroup cut 12-month targets to $112k for BTC (from $143k) and $3,175 for ETH (from $4,304) as US crypto legislation stalls.
• Narrative: BTC/ETH benefiting as altcoins lose luster - rotation to large-caps.
3. STARTUP FUNDING - Space, AI Coding & Autonomy Lead
Funding stayed strong for late-stage AI infra, but India slowed:
• Orbital Data Center: Starcloud raised $250M at $2.3B valuation to build data centers in space with Nvidia.
• Vibe-Coding: Swedish Lovable raised $400M at $13.3B valuation, double its Dec valuation.
• Autonomous Freight: Gatik secured $200M Series D led by Qatar Investment Authority.
• Other big rounds: Identity startup Socure - $156M at $5.2B, South Korea AI platform Wrtn - $72.2M Series C at $722M, Mexico's Primero - $12M seed for AI for blue-chips, Canada loaned quantum startup Xanadu $140M.
• India: Funding halved to $163M across 14 rounds Aug 21-27, down 51% from $337.8M previous week, but early-stage picking up. July-Aug early-stage crossed $609M.
Bottom line: Stocks cautious before Nvidia/Jackson Hole, Crypto consolidating after monster rally, Startup money flowing to AI infrastructure in space and on Earth.