• Wall Street closed mixed Monday: the S&P 500 fell about 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite dropped about 0.8%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was the only one of the three to close higher, per Yahoo Finance.
• Memory-chip makers SanDisk and Micron Technology led the sector lower — SanDisk fell more than 7% and Micron more than 5% — after reports that Nvidia plans to raise AI-server prices on rising memory costs and that Apple may shift some sourcing to Chinese suppliers, per Yahoo Finance.
• Brent and WTI crude each fell roughly 2.5% on profit-taking, CNBC reported, even as Washington rolled out new sanctions targeting Iranian oil buyers and transporters.
• Nvidia reports fiscal second-quarter results after the close Wednesday, Aug. 26 — the week's dominant catalyst for chip-sector sentiment, per its investor-relations calendar.
• Fed Chair Kevin Warsh gives his first Jackson Hole address as chair Friday, Aug. 28, per Bloomberg — the week's second major catalyst for global risk appetite.

Wall Street closed mixed Monday, Aug. 24, 2026: the S&P 500 fell about 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite dropped about 0.8%, dragged down by a slide in memory-chip stocks, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was the only one of the three main indexes to close higher, according to Yahoo Finance market data. The session came as investors positioned ahead of Nvidia Corporation's Wednesday earnings report and Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's Friday Jackson Hole address, according to Investing.com. For Gulf desks, the divergence between a resilient Dow and a chip-led Nasdaq decline is the overnight signal to weigh into Tuesday's open.

Chipmakers drag the S&P and Nasdaq lower

SanDisk shares fell more than 7% and Micron Technology dropped more than 5% Monday, the weakest performers among memory-chip names, after reports that Nvidia plans to raise its AI-server prices in response to rising memory costs, and separate reports that Apple may shift some memory sourcing to Chinese suppliers, according to Yahoo Finance. The sector-wide decline outweighed gains elsewhere in the market, pulling the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite into the red even as the broader Dow held up. Nvidia itself reports fiscal second-quarter results after Wednesday's close, Aug. 26, per its investor-relations calendar — the week's dominant catalyst for AI-linked demand signals.

Oil falls despite fresh Iran sanctions

Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) each fell roughly 2.5% Monday, CNBC reported, even as the U.S. administration rolled out a new sanctions push targeting buyers and transporters of Iranian crude. The decline reflected profit-taking after both benchmarks had risen more than 5% in each of the prior two weeks, per CNBC, rather than any easing of Gulf-adjacent geopolitical risk. Softer crude eases global inflation pressure but weighs on oil-revenue-driven fiscal positions across GCC budgets — a dynamic regional desks track closely regardless of the day-to-day driver.

What to watch this week

Two catalysts dominate the calendar: Nvidia's fiscal second-quarter earnings after Wednesday's close, Aug. 26, and Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's first Jackson Hole address as chair, Friday, Aug. 28, at 8 a.m. ET, according to Nvidia's investor-relations site and Bloomberg. Warsh took the Fed chair role May 22, 2026, and investors are watching for signals on how the central bank will weigh persistent inflation against growth risk — a read that typically moves global risk appetite, oil and, by extension, Gulf equity flows. This is not investment advice.