Hey Superheroes,
Wall Street had a rough finish to the week. The S&P 500 dropped 0.87% to 7,641.16 on Thursday 20 August, the Nasdaq fell 1% to 26,067.17 and the Dow shed 703.84 points to 52,759.21, leaving the S&P 500 down 1.9% for the week so far. The trigger was a Treasury bond rally that faded fast. The U.S. Treasury announced it would at least double its buybacks of long-dated debt, but long-term yields climbed back above pre-announcement levels within 24 hours, rattling a market that had briefly exhaled.
Oil added to the pressure. Brent crude rose to above $94 a barrel, a fresh high for the month, after President Trump threatened an “economic D-Day” and said the U.S. was starting an “economic warfare” operation against countries doing business with Iran. Energy and Middle East risk are back in the conversation.
The week’s standout move came from crypto. Bitcoin rallied past $73,000, its highest level since early June, after Trump met crypto industry executives at the White House and urged Congress to pass digital asset legislation. The rally triggered a record $2.7 billion in crypto short liquidations, with more than $1 billion of bitcoin shorts wiped out in about an hour. U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs took in $517 million in a single day, their largest daily inflow since May 2026. Superhero’s launch of crypto trading on its platform last week gave members timely access to the market just as the rally got underway.
Here’s what else moved this week.
CSL shares record largest single day gain in 20 years
CSL (ASX:CSL) reported one of the most unusual results of the local reporting season this week: a $2.6 billion statutory loss that sent the stock up 15%.
The numbers
CSL reported FY26 revenue of $15.8 billion, down 1% and underlying profit down 2% to $3.1 billion, alongside a statutory net loss of $2.6 billion driven by $7.1 billion in impairments and restructuring costs tied to its Vifor and Behring integration. On the surface, ugly. The market’s reaction told a different story.
The largest day in two decades
Shares rose around 15% to $154.43 in early trade on 18 August, in what several outlets described as CSL’s best single day in more than two decades. The market had already priced in the impairments. What it hadn’t priced in was the guidance.
What to watch
Management guided to FY27 underlying net profit growth of approximately 5%, ahead of prior consensus of around 2%. CSL Vifor’s revenue is expected to fall roughly 25% on generic competition and the loss of a benefit scheme for Velphoro, but the core plasma business is recovering faster than expected. The reset year appears to be behind it.
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Raided and rattled: WiseTech falls 13% as the ACCC executes a search warrant
WiseTech Global (ASX:WTC) has had a difficult year. This week added a new chapter.
The warrant
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission executed a search warrant on WiseTech on Wednesday 19 August, requiring the production of documents and electronic data relating to the supply of global logistics services and software, as part of an investigation into alleged contraventions of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. WiseTech said it will fully cooperate.
The market reaction
WiseTech shares fell as much as 13% to $37.68, their steepest one-day decline since June 2026. The move reflects how sensitive the market remains to governance headlines at WiseTech following last year’s scrutiny of founder Richard White.
The background
The ACCC has not disclosed the specific subject of the warrant. Scrutiny has intensified since WiseTech’s acquisition of e2open, which included logistics software competitor expedient. In January the ACCC accepted a court-enforceable undertaking requiring WiseTech to divest Expedient, saying the deal removed an important competitor to its CargoWise platform.
What the numbers don’t tell us
The timing is pointed. WiseTech reports FY26 full year results on 26 August, the same day Nvidia reports. The ACCC has not detailed the substance of its inquiry, so the FY26 result will be read alongside it rather than in isolation. The question the market will be asking on 26 August is not just what the numbers say, but what management says about the investigation.
Some other things we’re shining the Spotlight on:
Zip posts record cash earnings as profit jumps 46%
Zip Co (ASX:ZIP) led the ASX 200 on 20 August, closing up 18.2% at $3.05, as statutory profit for FY26 rose 46% to $116.4 million. Cash EBTDA reached a record $268.9 million, up 58% on FY25, with total transaction volume up 23% to $16.7 billion and US transaction volume up 42.5% in US dollar terms. Zip guided to FY27 cash EBTDA of $340 million, implying growth of around 26% year on year.
Gold miners dig up a rally
Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST) shares rose 6.2% to $23.94 after reporting FY26 revenue up 19% to $7.6 billion and underlying NPAT up 26% to $1.8 billion, driven by a 26% higher realised gold price. Gold’s sustained run above $4,100 an ounce is doing the heavy lifting for the sector’s earnings.
Moderna surges 177% on mRNA cancer vaccine breakthrough
Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) and Merck said their personalised mRNA vaccine cut the recurrence of melanoma after surgery when combined with Merck’s immunotherapy Keytruda, meeting its main goal in a late-stage trial of more than 1,100 patients. Moderna shares surged 177% on 19 August 2026, a record single-day gain that inflicted a $5.5 billion loss on short sellers. Merck (NYSE:MRK) shares also rose more than 12%.
