20.08.202615:31 Analisis Forex & Kajian: US Stock Market News Digest on August 20

Dollar slips ahead of FOMC minutes

The dollar continues to soften: for the third day, the USDX has been treading water near 99.40. There was an attempt to push higher this morning, but buyers ran into serious resistance at 99.60. Because the index now sits below its averages from recent months, analysts expect downward pressure on the US currency to persist in the near term.

The FOMC minutes for July will be released at 18:00 GMT. Although the Fed left rates unchanged (9 votes "for", 3 "against"), the market is focused on the details of the Committee's internal debate. The minutes will show how close the "hawks" are to a policy shift and will set the tone for investors' expectations. More details at the link.

Federal debt weighs on interest rates, while the AI battle reshuffles the market

Conference Board analysts are sounding the alarm over the huge US national debt. The problem is that the more the country borrows, the more expensive credit becomes for ordinary people: mortgages and auto loans pinch budgets, and small businesses struggle to find financing. Over recent years, the debt has grown by $20 trillion (roughly $11 trillion under Trump and $9 trillion under Biden).

Markets reacted unevenly to the Treasury's liquidity measures: the S&P 500 and the Dow rose, while the Nasdaq was dragged down by weakness in the tech sector. Semiconductor giants AMD and Intel fell about 4% amid weak results from OpenAI. OpenAI reported widening losses of $12.3 billion and slower growth, while rival Anthropic doubled revenue and turned profitable. More details at the link.

Bitcoin lifts Strategy Inc shares — up 10.4% premarket

Strategy Inc shares jumped 10.4% in premarket trading to $115.04 after a sharp Bitcoin rally — BTC gained about 8% and climbed toward $71,000. A wave of short-covering liquidations totaling $1.44 billion boosted demand for crypto-exposed stocks: MicroStrategy, Coinbase, MARA Holdings, and Robinhood advanced. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were nearly flat — investors appear to have rotated into crypto assets.

The rally was underpinned by two key factors: the US Treasury increased long-term buybacks to at least $4 billion per operation for 10–30-year maturities, which clearly improved liquidity and sentiment in risk markets; and a meeting between Trump and crypto-sector leaders stoked hopes for the CLARITY Act and potential regulatory easing. More details at the link.