Technology Stocks Lift Equities, Mideast Peace Prospects Wane | The Opening Trade 8/17/2026

Technology stocks lifted global equities after stellar revenue growth at Anthropic PBC bolstered the view that massive spending on artificial intelligence will be sustained. Fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah flared in Lebanon over the weekend, the latest setback in efforts to end parallel wars in the Middle East that have dragged on for almost six months and disrupted global markets. Israel’s military said Sunday that it killed Abu Hassan Alaa, a senior Hezbollah commander, in southern Lebanon a day earlier. Eleven people died in the Israeli strikes, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said were in retaliation for an attack by the militant group that seriously injured three soldiers. The Opening Trade has everything you need to know as markets open across Europe. With analysis you won't find anywhere else, we break down the biggest stories of the day and speak to top guests who have skin in the game. Hosted by Guy Johnson and Tom Mackenzie. Chapters: 00:00:30 - Market Check 00:01:22 - The Opening Trade 00:02:06 - Risk of Central Bank Tightening 00:04:45 - Israel Strikes Lebanon 00:07:26 - Copper Price Near Record High 00:09:32 - Riksbank Rate Decision 00:12:41 - Israel Hits Lebanon in New Strikes 00:25:18 - Dollar Weakens 00:34:34 - Alphabet Weighs AUS Dollar Bonds 00:37:22 - Alibaba AI Model Hits 3 Billion Downloads 00:38:59 - It's Not Looking Great for The Dollar: MLIV 00:49:37 - China July Retail Sales Rises 00:57:17 - Copper Surges Toward Record 01:15:22 - Neura Robotics CEO David Reger 01:20:28 - Dexory CEO Oana Jinga 01:24:24 - Record Heatwave in Belgium 01:26:58 - Talks with Oman Continue on Hormuz: Iran 01:31:08 - Brent Crude, Oil Price -------- More on Bloomberg Television and Markets Like this video? Subscribe and turn on notifications so you don't miss any videos from Bloomberg Markets & Finance: https://tinyurl.com/ysu5b8a9 Visit http://www.bloomberg.com for business news & analysis, up-to-the-minute market data, features, profiles and more. Connect with Bloomberg Television on: X: https://twitter.com/BloombergTV Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BloombergTelevision Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bloombergtv/ Connect with Bloomberg Business on: X: https://twitter.com/business Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bloombergbusiness Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bloombergbusiness/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bloombergbusiness?lang=en Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/bloomberg/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bloomberg-news/ More from Bloomberg: Bloomberg Radio: https://twitter.com/BloombergRadio Bloomberg Surveillance: https://twitter.com/bsurveillance Bloomberg Politics: https://twitter.com/bpolitics Bloomberg Originals: https://twitter.com/bbgoriginals Watch more on YouTube: Bloomberg Technology: https://www.youtube.com/@BloombergTechnology Bloomberg Originals: https://www.youtube.com/@business Bloomberg Quicktake: https://www.youtube.com/@BloombergQuicktake Bloomberg Espanol: https://www.youtube.com/@bloomberg_espanol Bloomberg Podcasts: https://www.youtube.com/@BloombergPodcasts