Public Markets 3 Hours

Last updated: August 13, 2026, 8:37 PM ET

Public Markets

Asian stocks were poised to extend gains Friday as cooling US inflation and a drop in oil prices reinforced bets that the Federal Reserve will hold rates steady. Reddit surged more than 10% after-hours on news of its S&P 500 inclusion later this month. In M&A, Charter Communications received final state approval for its $21.9 billion acquisition of Cox, agreeing to affordability concessions in California. A battle for control of India’s biggest conglomerate intensified as Ratan Tata’s successor moved to consolidate power.

Gold steadied near $4,400 an ounce as traders weighed the Fed’s rate path and prospects for reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Oil held recent declines, with diplomatic efforts toward a Hormuz deal offset by fresh attacks on tankers and energy infrastructure. In fixed income, a struggling mortgage lender using FHA taxpayer guarantees to make risky bets served as a canary for government-backed mortgage risk.

The SEC delayed a key crypto regulation meeting as landmark legislation stalls in Congress, a fresh setback for digital assets. A judge ordered Kalshi to stop offering most prediction-market wagers in Washington state, deeming them likely illegal gambling. Separately, a federal court sidestepped a key question over the Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act, dismissing the case in a messy procedural conclusion.

In corporate and regulatory news, Trump ordered the Navy to restore older steam catapults on aircraft carriers, a costly reversal the service had fought for years. The government’s antisemitism case against Harvard was dismissed by a judge who called campus incidents “isolated and episodic.” The deaths of three ICE detainees raised questions about medical care at facilities like Delaney Hall, while a separate report examined the administration’s plan to deploy immigration spies and California’s query "Are Jews an ethnic group?" In the Titanic artifacts case, a salvage company challenged a court’s role after being awarded collection but not sale rights. Finally, Luigi Mangione faces federal stalking charges in the death of a health insurance executive; a possible plea deal could close the federal case but complicate a state murder trial.