Strong economic data emerged from Asia as Japanese capital spending increased by 1.6 percent and South Korean exports surged 68.7 percent on booming semiconductor demand. Meanwhile, trade disruptions escalated at the US-Mexico border due to trucker blockades over visa revocations. Globally, China saw a 9 percent drop in second-quarter oil consumption as electric vehicle adoption accelerated, while the Dutch central bank relocated 86 tonnes of gold to London.
01Macro
Japan Corporate Capex Rises 1.6% Year-Over-Year in Q2
Record corporate profitability converting into hardware and software investment strengthens the central bank's justification to normalize monetary policy against a tightening labor market.
Japanese corporate spending on plant and equipment rose 1.6 percent in the second quarter compared to the same period a year earlier, according to Ministry of Finance data released on Tuesday. The acceleration from a meager increase in the previous quarter was driven by manufacturing sector investments in automation, , and digital transformation to offset a persistent labor shortage in an aging population. Corporate sales rose 5.9 percent year-on-year, while recurring profit surged 24.6 percent to a record 44.7 trillion yen. The stronger-than-expected figures will be incorporated into revised gross domestic product data due on September 8, potentially lifting preliminary annualized growth from 1.1 percent. This domestic resilience supports the case for the Bank of Japan to raise its policy at its upcoming September 18 board decision.
Japan Capital Spending Growth (%)
Capex growth accelerated sharply from the previous quarter.
South Korea August Exports Surge 68.7% Year-Over-Year
Hyper-scale cloud infrastructure buildouts have concentrated South Korean export exposure into memory chips, leaving national trade balances tethered directly to North American data center capital expenditures.
South Korea reported a 68.7 percent year-on-year surge in August exports to $98.25 billion, extending an expansion streak to 15 consecutive months. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy released the figures, which beat the 62.6 percent median forecast from a Reuters poll of economists. shipments drove the increase, skyrocketing 209 percent to $46.65 billion on heavy infrastructure spending by major cloud providers including Google and Amazon. This record chip demand pushed the monthly to $34.75 billion, marking the third straight month the surplus has exceeded $30 billion. Meanwhile, automobile exports fell 29.8 percent to $3.85 billion due to partial wage strikes and summer holiday production schedules.
August Export Breakdown by Sector ($B)
Semiconductors accounted for nearly half of total export value in August.
Cross-border asset seizures transform sovereign arbitration awards against state-owned enterprises into tangible balance-sheet liabilities, creating operational risks for foreign fleets entering enforcing jurisdictions.
Norwegian authorities seized the Russian state-owned commercial cruise ship Professor Molchanov at the port of Barentsburg in Svalbard to enforce a $4.22 billion arbitral award obtained by Ukraine's Naftogaz. The Nord-Troms and Senja District Court ordered the vessel to remain in place following an application from Naftogaz, which has tracked the ship for months as part of global efforts to recover following Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea. A tribunal in The Hague ruled in 2023 that Russia must pay compensation for seized energy assets including gas fields and pipelines, though Moscow has declined to settle the claim. Naftogaz and its legal counsel Covington & Burling LLP previously secured recognition of the award as enforceable in Norway, allowing local authorities to prevent the ship from leaving its current location under the supervision of Svalbard's governor.
Mexican Truckers Block Border Crossing to Protest B-1 Visa Crackdown
Enforcing cabotage restrictions via visa revocations turns border bottlenecks into immediate cross-border freight capacity shocks, directly threatening the margin structure of nearshoring supply chains.
Mexican truckers blocked the Calexico East-Mexicali border crossing Thursday to protest the revocation of B-1 visas by U.S. authorities, according to freightwaves.com. Drivers targeted the commercial crossing to demand clarity on cabotage rules and visa revocations following recent inspections. Mexican B-1 visa holders are legally permitted to move international freight across the border, but they are barred from hauling domestic cargo between points within the United States. Protesters claim that 17 drivers lost their visas in Mexicali this week, while Ismael Reyes de la Rosa, a representative for the National Chamber of Freight Transportation, stated that he personally knows of 11 affected individuals. An estimated 1,255 commercial trucks cross the Calexico East-Mexicali Port of Entry daily, supporting roughly $2 billion in annual cross-border trade spanning automotive, industrial, medical, and agricultural goods. Truckers also demonstrated at the San Luis Río Colorado crossing and warned of possible expansions to Tijuana. The blockade risks truck capacity and disrupting supply chains across key U.S.-Mexico trade corridors.
Asian Summit Highlights Contrasts Between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump
Geopolitical realignment in Central Asia positions China as the primary backstop for regional energy supply disruptions, cementing long-term trade settlement and infrastructure advantages for Beijing.
oilprice.com reports that Chinese leader Xi Jinping used the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Bishkek to present China as a predictable alternative to United States foreign policy. The gathering produced few major announcements or dramatic moments compared to the previous year's summit in Tianjin. Instead, Beijing relied on quiet diplomacy and economic ties to reinforce its regional influence. US President Donald Trump's trade friction with Canada, curtailed military exercises with South Korea, and tensions with European nations provided a sharp contrast to China's messaging. Smaller Central Asian states sought closer alignment with Beijing amid shifting geopolitical dynamics. Meanwhile, China stepped in to supply fuel oil to Kyrgyzstan after Ukrainian drone strikes disrupted Russian refinery output.
High Oil Prices Accelerate China's Transition Away From Crude
Electrifying heavy freight and industrial machinery strips oil of its role as an indispensable commercial fuel, permanently ratcheting down structural crude demand after price shocks.
Oilprice.com reports that China's oil consumption fell 9% year over year in the second quarter as expensive accelerated the adoption of electric vehicles, rail, and industrial equipment. The decline helped cut China's carbon dioxide emissions by 1% during the quarter. High oil prices followed disruptions in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz after the Iran war. Electric vehicles displaced 36 million metric tons of oil in the first half of 2026, accounting for roughly one-third of the reduction in Chinese oil demand. Electric trucks drove the fastest change, with alternative-fuel use in the trucking sector jumping 90% year over year between January and June. Electric machinery also replaced diesel equipment in construction and mining. Lower oil consumption prevented roughly 35 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions during the second quarter.
Netherlands transfers 86 tonnes of gold to London citing geopolitical unrest
Concentrating reserves at the Bank of England trades transatlantic geographic insulation for instant liquidity in London, showing central banks prioritize immediate asset deployability during systemic crises.
The Dutch transferred approximately 86 metric tons of out of the United States and Canada to London, citing increasing geopolitical unrest and the need to improve contingency planning. The operation took place between March and August, shifting reserves to the Bank of England where gold meets international trade standards and can be deployed more rapidly in a crisis. DNB Governor Olaf Sleijpen stated that while the bank expects never to need the reserves, the relocation strengthens institutional resilience and improves tradability compared to holdings in North America. The total Dutch gold stock stood at 612.4 tonnes at the end of 2025 and was valued at 72.2 billion euros. The transfer was executed through a mix of physical transport and market transactions, including moving more than 27 tonnes of physical gold to the central bank cash center in Zeist before sending an equivalent quantity to London to avoid melting down bars. Following the reallocation, London holds the largest share of Dutch gold reserves at 32.1%, followed by Zeist at 30.8%, while New York and Ottawa account for 18.5% each.
Dutch Gold Reserve Storage Locations (%)
London now holds the largest share of Dutch gold reserves at 32.1 percent.
Surging Asian manufacturing contrast with physical trade blockades and shifting European central bank reserves. Whether rising Japanese capital spending triggers an immediate Bank of Japan rate hike remains the key unresolved issue for traders tomorrow.
This, every morning.
SuMarket writes Global Stock Markets every morning, along with every other section of the market and the companies and topics you follow. Free to read.