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Market news: Ant Group plans to sell a 3% stake in Indian digital payments and fintech company Paytm for $309 million.

The yield on German 30-year government bonds hit its highest level since 2011.

Fitch Ratings' India ratings and research arm, Ind-Ra, predicted on Tuesday that India's GDP growth will slow to 6.8% in fiscal year 2026-27, down from 7.6% in the previous fiscal year. Reasons cited include fuel and food inflation risks from uncertainty surrounding the Middle East conflict, a weaker local currency, and the potential impact of El Niño on agriculture. The agency forecasts GDP growth of 6.9%, 6.6%, 6.7%, and 6.9% for the first through fourth quarters, respectively, compared to the Reserve Bank of India's forecasts of 7%, 6.4%, 6.5%, and 6.8%. Furthermore, the agency now expects the average crude oil price to be $85 per barrel in fiscal year 2026-27 (down from $95 per barrel in May), and the average rupee exchange rate against the US dollar to be 93.98 (down from 94.28 in May), representing a 6.4% year-on-year depreciation. Ind-Ra Chief Economist Pant stated that the average price of a basket of Indian crude oil is projected to be $101.31 per barrel in the first quarter of fiscal year 2026-27 (April to June 2026) and $96.49 per barrel in the second quarter (April to July 2026). “Our crude oil price assumption for fiscal year 2026-27 is $85 per barrel. Lower oil prices will have a positive impact on the Indian economy by reducing the trade/current account deficit. However, rising inflation due to El Niño may limit the upside potential for growth from lower oil prices,” Pant said.

Hindustan Zinc: Will increase the share of renewable energy in electricity consumption to 22%.

U.S. Special Envoy for Syria, Ehud Barak: The airstrikes constitute an unnecessary escalation.

U.S. Special Envoy for Syria, Ehud Barak: The United States will encourage diplomacy between Syria and Israel.

U.S. Special Envoy for Syria, Ehud Barak, expressed deep concern over Israel's airstrikes on Abu Duhor in Syria.

U.S. Special Envoy for Syria, Ehud Barak: Israel's strike on the airbase was unnecessary.

Market news: The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry summoned the Russian ambassador.

Swedish electric freight and autonomous driving technology company Einride will deploy 500 Tesla Semi trucks on its SAGA AI platform to serve Amazon and other customers, covering the North American market. The deployment of the Tesla Semi trucks will expand the company's electric freight network, covering freight corridors in California, Texas, New Jersey, Illinois, and Georgia. The deployment will be phased over the next 24 months, with plans to begin in September, and will be entirely funded through third-party financing.

Market news: EU merger and acquisition regulators have approved the $9.2 billion acquisition of InPost by a consortium led by Advent and FedEx (FDX.N). The EU stated that FedEx and InPost's businesses are largely complementary, with limited potential for market share growth.

Harvest Nasdaq ETF: Trading in this fund will be suspended from the opening of the market on August 19, 2026, and will resume at 10:30. Redemption services will continue as usual during the suspension period.

Defense analyst and retired Romanian naval officer Alexandru Hudisteanu stated that the conflict between Iran and the United States is increasingly exhibiting regional characteristics. While the war itself remains localized, the entire region is now essentially in a state of conflict. The Houthi rebels have extended their front lines to the Red Sea, threatening Saudi shipping. The attacks in the Caspian Sea a few weeks ago have, to some extent, linked the broader region to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The instability triggered by the US-Israel war against Iran in February could further spread and escalate in other regions, creating a "mixed landscape of ambiguity and instability." He bluntly stated that describing the current situation as a new security reality is not an exaggeration. The military measures taken by the United States so far have failed to break the deadlock, at least failing to resolve the Strait of Hormuz issue. Washington is currently in a "strategic pause" phase to reassess subsequent options. The US blockade of Iranian ports is its most impactful action since the military strike phase. But the problem is that the same methods the US used to block the Iranian economy are now being used by Iran to retaliate against the world.

Moody's: Supported by a flexible economy, effective institutions and proactive policymaking, the Australian economy is expected to continue to be resilient.

Moody's: Despite rising oil prices due to global tariffs and conflicts in the Middle East, the Australian economy remains resilient.

According to Axios, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is considering a “capability-based approach” similar to physician assessment to evaluate medical devices that employ generative artificial intelligence technology.

According to RIA Novosti, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that on the evening of August 17, attack drones struck fuel storage tanks used by the Ukrainian military in the port of Odessa.

According to RIA Novosti, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that troops have seized two settlements in the Donetsk region of Ukraine.

Invesco Nasdaq Technology ETF: Trading in this fund will be suspended from the opening of the market on August 19, 2026, and will resume at 10:30 on August 19, 2026. Redemption services will continue as usual during the suspension period.

US-listed storage stocks fell across the board in pre-market trading, with Micron Technology (MU.O) down 4.8%, and SanDisk (SNDK.O), SK Hynix (SKHY.O), and Western Digital (WDC.O) all down about 5.5%.