Trade Secrets

WTF Dailies August 27, 2025

Stock futures are mostly higher Wednesday morning as tariffs for most imports from India were doubled to 50% following President Donald Trump’s efforts to reduce the country’s purchasing of oil from Russia.

Sage Kakkat

27 Aug 2025 — 6 min read

Stock futures are mostly higher Wednesday morning as tariffs for most imports from India were doubled to 50% following President Donald Trump’s efforts to reduce the country’s purchasing of oil from Russia.
Investors are also looking forward to tomorrow’s updated second-quarter gross domestic product data and Friday’s Personal Consumption Expenditures Deflator for July.
U.S. equities were higher on Tuesday as markets adjusted their expectations for Federal Reserve (Fed) rate cuts following President Donald Trump’s moves to remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook, which prompted concerns over the Fed’s independence.
Meanwhile, July durable goods orders fell less than expected month-over-month (MOM), June home prices declined more than forecasted MOM, and consumer confidence came in lower than the prior month’s upwardly revised reading.
The Dow was up 0.3%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.4%. The S&P 500 increased 0.4% with seven of 11 sectors finishing in positive territory. The Industrials sector was the top performer, rising 1.0%, while the Consumer Staples sector was the bottom performer, falling 0.5%.
On the data front, the Mortgage Banker Association’s gauge of mortgage applications decreased by 0.5% for the week ending August 22 versus the prior week’s decrease of 1.4%. Meanwhile, the Department of Energy’s measure of crude oil inventories is expected to have decreased by 2.0 million barrels for the week ending August 22 versus the prior week’s increase of 6.0 million barrels.
Across the pond, European stocks are mostly lower in mid-day trading as German consumer confidence declined from the prior month’s downwardly revised reading.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mixed following China’s industrial profits declining 1.5% year-over-year (YOY) in July versus being down 4.3% YOY in June. Australia’s July Consumer Price Index accelerated more than expected to 2.8% YOY, while the country’s leading index picked up in July.
In FOREX trading, the dollar is higher following the recent Fed and tariff developments.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 0.3% lower at $63.09/barrel despite an expected decline in U.S. crude oil inventories.
In the metals complex, gold is 0.2% higher at $3,394.00/ounce despite a strengthening dollar.

Market Close

U.S. equity markets closed higher after a relatively uneventful session. The large-cap S&P 500 index closed at a new record high, while the technology focused Nasdaq finished still 1.3% off its high point reported earlier this month.
This follows a mixed tone in equities overnight, with European markets soft, the Nikkei up modestly, and Indian equities down 1% after the Trump administration doubled tariff rates on imports from this country to 50%.
In bond markets, shorter-dated U.S. government bonds rallied, pushing 2- and 10-year yields down 2 basis points (0.02%), despite muted demand for a 5-year Treasury auction. Longer-dated Treasuries meanwhile continue to underperform in the wake of President Trump's push to fire Fed Governor Cook earlier this week, with the 30-year Treasury flat on the day, driving a further steepening in the yield curve. The dollar was flat against a basket of trade-weighted currencies, while oil and gold prices moved higher.
News reports suggest the Trump administration is looking to exert more influence over the Regional Federal Reserve Bank presidents. Unlike Federal Reserve Board governors, the Regional Fed presidents are not currently nominated by the president or confirmed by the Senate. News sources indicate that the president's team is looking to apply greater scrutiny over these appointments, which are currently coordinated between the private-sector boards of the Fed banks and the Fed Board of Governors.
This is seemingly adding to market concerns over greater political involvement in the central bank, with Treasury Secretary Bessent repeating his push for a review of the Fed. In terms of more immediate monetary-policy matters, New York Fed President Williams was on the wires arguing that the September meeting is "live", hinting at a Fed rate cut. Markets will likely expect similar signals from Governor Waller's speech tomorrow, with Waller considered the favorite in betting markets to replace Chair Powell when his term expires next year.
Nvidia (NVDA) reported second quarter earnings after the bell on Wednesday that beat on the top and bottom lines, though its data center revenue came in just shy of analyst expectations, weighing on the stock in after-hours trading.
The company reported Q2 data center revenue topped out at $41.1 billion. Analysts were expecting $41.3 billion, according to data from Bloomberg. Segment revenue was $26.2 billion in the prior-year period. The numbers didn't include sales of its lower-powered H20 chips into China.
Nvidia also noted that approximately 50% of its data center revenue came from large cloud service providers.

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