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On August 19, Houthi military spokesman Sari stated that the group has adopted three "strategies": responding to a blockade with a blockade, striking Saudi military strongholds (regardless of their location), and defending Yemeni sovereignty. Since announcing a ban on Saudi maritime navigation on July 20, the Houthis have attacked eight Saudi oil tankers—five in the Red Sea and three in the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea. He claimed the group has also blocked the passage of 48 Saudi oil tankers and forced them to turn back, including 34 in the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean and 14 in the Red Sea. The Houthis have carried out nine military operations targeting Yanbu, Najran, Jizan, Abha, and oil supply facilities in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, and 14 operations against what they claim are Saudi military strongholds in Ruwek, Abul, Wadiyah, Marib, and Muhah. He warned Saudi Arabia against further escalation, stating, "Any full-scale escalation will lead to a full-scale escalation." Sari stated that Saudi Arabia's only option is to lift the blockade, end the aggression, withdraw foreign troops, and return Yemeni resources to the Yemeni people.

According to reports, Iranian Parliament Speaker Qalibaf met with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Zaidi in Baghdad, Iraq.

Bank of America Global Research: Raises target price for Adobe (ADBE.O) from $190 to $220.

According to Iranian media Fars News, Iranian Parliament Speaker Qalibaf stated that resistance is the only path to victory, and negotiations will be meaningless if we are not prepared for war.

AI computing power rental provider Nebius fell 6% after the company announced it would issue $4.5 billion in convertible bonds to support its artificial intelligence business.

On August 19, Ruqi Mobility (09680.HK) announced that its revenue for the first half of 2026 was RMB 4.035 billion, an increase of 140.7% year-on-year; the loss attributable to equity shareholders was RMB 68.49 million, an increase of 45.2% year-on-year.

Estée Lauder (EL.N) rose 12%, hitting its highest intraday price since March 11, as the company projected annual profits to exceed expectations.

Broadcom (AVGO.O) fell 2% after Marvell Technology reached a custom chip agreement with Google.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened 179.12 points higher, or 0.34%, at 53,522.52 on Wednesday, August 19; the S&P 500 opened 33.11 points higher, or 0.43%, at 7,725.08; and the Nasdaq Composite opened 106.33 points higher, or 0.40%, at 26,396.04.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index opened 0.7% higher following President Trump's postponement of tariff measures.

On August 19, Liu Guozhong, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council, conducted research in Tianjin. He emphasized the need to unswervingly implement the new era's health and wellness work guidelines, adhere to the strategy of prioritizing health development, build a high-quality and efficient medical service system, and promote the development of new productive forces in the health and wellness field, such as brain-computer interfaces, to better meet the comprehensive and life-cycle health needs of the people. Liu Guozhong also visited relevant laboratories and medical institutions to conduct in-depth research on the research, clinical trials, and applications of brain-computer interfaces. He stressed the importance of strengthening basic research in brain science, advancing breakthroughs in key core technologies, and enhancing original innovation capabilities. He also emphasized the need for coordinated planning, guiding various regions to leverage their own scientific research and industrial advantages, accurately identify their development positioning, expand application scenarios, and explore distinctive development paths. Finally, he stressed the importance of improving the standards system, strictly regulating supervision, and firmly upholding the bottom line of safety.

Poland's blue-chip index, WIG20, continued to rise, up 1.8% at its latest.

According to the National Meteorological Center, a tropical disturbance in the northern South China Sea developed into a tropical depression on the afternoon of August 19. Affected by the tropical depression and the southwest monsoon, parts of Hainan Island, southern Guangxi, Guangdong, Fujian, Taiwan Island, and Zhejiang will experience heavy rain or torrential rain over the next three days. Following comprehensive assessment and emergency consultation, the China Meteorological Administration has activated a Level IV emergency response for major meteorological disasters (heavy rain).

On August 19th, Marvell Technology and Google announced an expanded chip development collaboration, including the granting of a warrant to Google allowing it to purchase up to $12.2 billion worth of Marvell stock. Marvell Technology stated in a regulatory filing on Wednesday that Google can purchase up to 58,970,907 shares at a price of $206.58 per share. According to the filing, nearly 1.4 million warrant shares will vest quarterly during the first year of the agreement. The remaining shares will vest in installments based on "discretionary purchases" from the third quarter of fiscal year 2027 to the end of fiscal year 2033, with each installment vesting for every $500 million in revenue generated from collaboratively developed products. According to the statement, the two companies will collaborate in the areas of AI inference accelerators, storage controllers, network interface controllers, memory interface controllers, and near-memory computing.

On August 19, Iranian Parliament Speaker Qassem Ghalibaf visited Baghdad, the capital of Iraq. Ghalibaf expressed his hope to establish a regional order "without external interference." Iraqi President Amidi met with Ghalibaf that day, stating that Iraq supports all efforts to end regional conflict and resolve the crisis, advocating for resolving differences through constructive dialogue and diplomatic channels, emphasizing the need to uphold national sovereignty and independence, avoid escalation, and refrain from the use of force as much as possible. Iraqi Parliament Speaker Haibat Khalbsi, during his meeting with Ghalibaf, stated that Iraq is one of the countries most severely affected by the current regional situation and called on Iran to consider the special nature of the Iran-Iraq relationship and provide "special arrangements" for Iraq's oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz to protect Iraq's economic interests.

Abnormal AI: Announced a strategic partnership with OpenAI to accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence in enterprises.

Stifel: The news about the melanoma vaccine is "conceptually favorable to Maravai".

Target (TGT.N) CFO: Share buybacks are expected to resume in the second half of the year.