Market Quick Take - Korea leads a global chip selloff as long bond yields hit a 19-year high - 19 August 2026

Market drivers and catalysts

• Macro: Long borrowing costs reached generational highs as stalled Iran talks kept energy risk elevated
• Equities: US and Europe fell as bond yields pressured tech, Asia sold off sharply, led by Korea’s semiconductor-heavy market.
• Volatility: Near-dated protection was rebid from a very low base as the tape turned choppier
• Digital Assets: Listed crypto proxies fell hard while the underlying majors barely moved at all
• Commodities: Oil rises on Hormuz risks while metals retreat and sugar surges
• Fixed Income: US long yields hit new generational highs, but global bonds found strong support late Tuesday and early Wednesday.
• Currencies: JPY firmed early Wednesday as global bonds found support.

Macro

• The long end of the US yield curve dipped sharply after setting a generational high. The 30-year Treasury yield touched 5.336% on Tuesday, its highest level since 2007, extending a global bond selloff before reversing sharply late in the session. The drivers named this week are cumulative rather than singular: persistent inflation worries, stalled talks to end the war with Iran, questions about the policy path under new Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh, and US borrowing that leaves the national debt approaching USD 40 trillion after a July deficit of USD 432 billion.
• The move was not confined to the United States. Japanese 10-year debt reached its highest yield in three decades Tuesday, although JGBs rallied strongly overnight. German 30-year yields likewise hit a new high Tuesday since 2011, and French 30-year borrowing costs climbed to a level last seen before the 2008 financial crisis as the yield spread to German counterparts widened.
• Energy risk stayed live. President Trump declined to extend the US-Iran peace agreement, and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz slowed sharply after attacks on tankers, with five commodity vessels transiting on Saturday and none on Sunday against 31 the previous weekend. Renewed fighting in Lebanon added to the picture. The absence of an actual supply outage has so far capped the move in crude.
• The attention now turns to the Jackson Hole symposium late next week, with flash purchasing managers' indices due Friday. Long-end supply may remain the near-term test of whether this week's yield levels attract buyers.
• More in our Macro Analysis & Macroeconomic News

Macro calendar highlights (times in GMT)

• 0600 – UK July CPI
• 1430 – EIA’s Weekly Crude and Fuel Stock Report
• 1800 – Fed July Meeting Minutes

Earnings events

• Wednesday: Analog Devices, TJX Companies, Lowe’s, Target, Estee Lauder, Geberit, Carlsberg
• Thursday: Walmart, Deere & Company, Ross Stores, Netease, Fortescue, Novonesis

For all macro, earnings, and dividend events check Saxo’s calendar.

Equities

• USA: US equities retreated on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 down 0.7%, the Dow down 0.2% and the Nasdaq 100 falling 1.7%, as higher long-term yields and oil prices hit growth stocks. Semiconductors led the decline: Nvidia fell 2.3%, Micron dropped 7.0% and SanDisk sank 9.0% as investors cut exposure to recent AI winners, while Home Depot slipped 0.1% despite beating second-quarter sales estimates. Healthcare and energy gained as investors rotated toward more defensive areas. Attention now turns to the Federal Reserve’s July meeting minutes and results from major US retailers.
• Europe: European equities also weakened on Tuesday, with the Stoxx 600 down 0.7% and Germany’s DAX down 0.8%, while the UK’s FTSE 100 edged 0.1% higher. Rising sovereign bond yields and renewed inflation concerns pressured technology shares, with Infineon falling 7.6% as the sector dropped sharply. H&M gained 4.1% after an executive disclosed a share purchase, while Coloplast rose 3.0% after forecasting renewed growth in its Kerecis wound-care business. Energy shares provided some support as oil prices remained elevated. Markets now watch UK inflation data and the Federal Reserve minutes.
• Asia: Asian equities sold off sharply on Wednesday, with South Korea’s Kospi down 5.4%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 falling 3% and Shanghai losing 2.0%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.2%. Korea bore the brunt of the global semiconductor reversal as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix tumbled alongside US chip peers. Xiaomi rose 6.8% after results showed stronger electric-vehicle deliveries despite pressure on smartphone margins, while Baidu dropped 11.8% after revenue and profit disappointed. In China, robot maker Unitree surged around 600% on its Shanghai debut, offering a striking exception to the broader risk-off tone.
• More in our Equity Trading - Stock Market Analysis & News

Volatility

• Long yields at a 19-year high and a chip rout lifted near-dated protection off the floor. VIX rose 4.28% to 15.84 and VIX9D 9.69% to 13.59, while same-day VIX1D jumped 20.91% to 10.06 from an unusually low base. VVIX eased 1.12% to 92.87.
• The cash curve holds a steep contango, 15.84 spot against 19.27 at three months and 22.94 at one year, the front future at 18.25. SKEW sits at 143.60, MOVE eased to 74.98 and oil vol dropped 10.87% to 47.17. SPX options imply 0.46% today and 0.80% into Friday.
• For a more detailed view on volatility, check our Options Briefs in the Options Insights

Digital Assets

• The listed proxies took the pain while the majors barely moved. Cipher fell 13.00%, Marathon 7.77%, Iren 6.46% and Riot 5.64%, with Strategy down 5.28%, Circle 3.83% and Coinbase 2.87%, all tracking the wider technology and rate move rather than spot. DVOL held at 34.95.
• Spot bitcoin and ether ETFs drew a combined USD 1.1 billion of net inflows in the week to 15 August, ending a run of net outflows, with BlackRock's funds taking roughly 80% of the bitcoin total. Weekly ETF trading volumes stayed near multi-year lows.

Commodities

• Oil: Crude advanced for a third straight session and held the gains in early trading, with WTI at USD 85.40 and Brent at USD 91.50, both up around 0.6%. Brent touched its highest level since 30 July during Tuesday's session and WTI its highest since 31 July, supported by the lapse of the US-Iran agreement and a sharp drop in Hormuz transits. US energy equities followed crude higher, with the sector ETF gaining 1.76% and the exploration and production ETF rising 1.09%. Later the EIA will publish fresh data on US stockpiles.
• Precious metals: The complex was hit by profit-taking on Tuesday as global bond yields surged, with spot gold falling to USD 4,325 during today's Asian session before staging a modest rebound. With broader risk sentiment also deteriorating, miners suffered more than the underlying metal, with the senior gold miners ETF down 3.20% and the juniors falling 4.12%. Near-term focus remains on the tug of war between energy-led inflation, which is lifting yields and reviving rate-hike risks, and renewed investor demand alongside continued central bank buying, notably from China.
• Industrial metals: Copper retreated from near-record highs after one of the largest squeezes seen in the market eased somewhat on Tuesday, as traders including Trafigura Group made significant deliveries of metal to the London Metal Exchange. The deliveries provided some relief after a recent surge in shipments to the US had sharply reduced LME inventories that underpin global benchmark contracts, contributing to extreme tightness in nearby supply. In New York, High Grade copper trades near USD 6.55 per pound, down from above USD 6.80 on Monday.
• Agriculture: Raw sugar futures in New York rose to a 14-month high on Tuesday and are now up around 20% this month, supported by global supply concerns as El Niño threatens to reduce harvests across key Asian producers. Arabica coffee meanwhile rose to a six-month high, supported by delays to the Brazilian harvest and disruption following a deadly earthquake in Colombia, slowing the flow of beans to the market and adding to concerns about near-term availability.
• More in our Commodity News, Analysis & Commentary

Fixed Income

• US Treasuries rallied after long-dated yields hit cycle highs Tuesday. After the 30-year Treasury yield hit a new post-2007 high of 5.336%, it fell some nine basis points to below 5.27% by early Wednesday. Somewhat less drama in the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield, which once again peaked on Tuesday just short of the 4.75% level that has capped the range in recent weeks, falling back some six basis points by early Wednesday to below 4.69%.
• Japan’s government bonds rallied strongly after the prior day’s spike in yields to new cycle highs. A very strong 5-year bond auction Tuesday suggested firming demand at the higher yield levels. The benchmark 2-year yield fell more than two basis points Wednesday to 1.67%, while the benchmark 10-year JGB yield dropped nearly seven basis points to 2.89%.

Currencies

• The Japanese yen firmed slightly as global bond yields fell late in US hours and overnight into early Wednesday. After USDJPY traded at its highest levels Tuesday since the powerful wave of official intervention to support the JPY nearly three weeks ago, it rolled over as the JPY rallied early Wednesday, trading near 159.30 from a 159.78 high. EURJPY fell to 184.55 from its 184.91 Tuesday high.
• The US dollar was mixed, firmer against risk-sensitive currencies, for example the weak Australian dollar, as AUDUSD fell to 0.7070 from its recent highs above 0.7100, while slightly weaker versus the euro and sterling.
• More on currencies in our dedicated section: Forex Trading News & Analysis