Deutsche Bank analyst Sanjeev Raja warned UK inflation could rise further after headline CPI increased to 2.9% in July from 2.6% in June. He said the Bank of England’s core services indicators were revised higher across the board, highlighting renewed services price momentum, while energy inflation remains volatile amid Middle East geopolitical uncertainty. Food inflation is at its lowest since end-2021 and services growth is at a three-month low, but Raja cautioned this may be temporary and sai

Japan's Nikkei 225 opened down 631.39 points, or 0.94%, at 66,829.34 points on Wednesday, Aug. 19.

U.S. 30-year Treasury yield rose to 5.33% on Tuesday, a 19-year high. Japan's 10-year yield hit a 30-year peak, while German and French 30-year yields climbed to their highest levels since 2011 and 2008. The advance reflects concern about sticky inflation and a growing U.S. debt burden. Market participants say rising yields increase discount rates applied to long-dated AI earnings and raise borrowing costs, pressuring planned data-center investment. State Street Global strategist Batorini said materially higher, persistent yields would hit long-duration growth stocks by lifting discount rates; he noted AI capex starts funded by hyperscalers' cash but shifts toward bond financing over time, raising sensitivity to yield swings. D.A. Davidson tech head Luria said higher borrowing costs will make AI data-center projects harder to launch and will weigh unevenly across the sector: diversified giants such as Microsoft and Amazon can absorb the shock, while more debt-reliant players including CoreWeave and Oracle face larger risk and tighter market scrutiny; for debt-dependent firms, small rate moves could jeopardize expansion plans.