UAE Cuts Economic Ties With Iran, SK Hynix Moves to Calm Market | The Opening Trade 8/19/2026

The United Arab Emirates said it was cutting all economic ties with Tehran after accusing Iran of firing ballistic missiles at its territory, ramping up regional tensions. SK Hynix unveiled plans to buy back 40 trillion won ($29 billion) of stock and return more of its profits to shareholders in an effort to calm worries about the durability of AI spending. The memory chipmaker said it will buy back as many as 24 million treasury shares between Aug. 20 and Nov. 19 and cancel them, according to a regulatory filing Wednesday. It also boosted its shareholder return pledge to more than 50% of free cash flow, up from a previous target of within 50%. Its US shares rose as much as 7.1% in pre-market trading. 00:07:07:00 Note: the EU has pledged to spend up to €30 billion to build as many as seven artificial intelligence data centers in Europe 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, Tom Mackenzie and Skylar Montgomery Koning. Chapters: 00:00:00 - The Opening Trade 00:00:16 - Market Check 00:02:18 - Asian Stocks, Chip Selloff 00:06:00 - Oil Climbs for 4th Day 00:07:08 - UK Inflation Rises 00:11:31 - Carlsberg CEO Jacob Aarup-Andersen 00:19:36 - AI Funding Boom 00:21:26 - China Lands Rocket Back on Earth 00:25:09 - Bond Market Check 00:35:45 - UK CPI Jumps 00:38:44 - Big Picture Is Very Bullish Still: MLIV 00:47:03 - Stocks to Watch: Tech stocks, Carlsberg, ING 01:01:49 - SK Hynix Announces Share Buyback 01:13:07 - Trump Delays Canada Tariffs 01:28:48 - Hormuz Traffic Normalization 'Unlikely' 01:32:47 - UK Gilts, Bond Reset -------- 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