Top stories for the morning: Trump increases pressure on Fed, S&P 500 index will include a newcomer

Donald Trump announced the removal of one of the Fed governors, which caused the price of gold to rise amid concerns about the central bank's independence. At the same time, the administration blocked the construction of a wind farm off the coast of Maryland and threatened to impose duties on countries that will not give up digital taxes against American technology companies. In the corporate segment, the key event was the inclusion of Interactive Brokers shares in the S&P 500 index, which caused a jump in broker quotes. About these and other topics - in our review of key events by the morning of August 26.

The cost of gold rose after Donald Trump announced in a letter that he had fired Federal Reserve Board of Governors member Lisa Cook, Bloomberg reported. This is the first time a Fed governor has been fired by a president in the central bank's 111-year history. The move heightened concerns about the Fed's independence and supported investor demand for safe haven assets. The dollar weakened and short-term government bond yields fell, which also gave a boost to the market.

The forced resignation of Cook, whom Trump supporters blame for the alleged mortgage fraud, will allow Trump to form a majority in the Fed leadership. His candidates, according to analysts, will be more inclined to cut rates, which traditionally benefits gold. The value of the metal has already risen by more than a quarter since the beginning of the year, and experts at Citi and UBS predict further growth.

In morning trading in Asia, gold rose 0.3% to $3377 per ounce. Silver also gained, while platinum and palladium remained stable. Copper rose 0.6%, while steel and iron ore prices in China declined.

Cook, who has not been formally charged, said Trump had no reason to fire her and that she would continue to fulfill her duties, CNN reported. The Fed declined to comment.

Tekscend Photomask, a subsidiary of Toppan Holdings, is planning an IPO with a valuation of about 300 billion yen ($2 billion), sources told Reuters. The company may receive an application for listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange as early as the end of September.

The business was spun off from Toppan three years ago with Integral's fund holding a 49.9% stake. As part of the offering, both the new securities and part of Integral's stake will be sold. Toppan retains a controlling stake of 50.1%.

The semiconductor photomask maker is preparing a deal with Bank of America, Nomura, SMBC Nikko and Morgan Stanley MUFG as underwriters. Analysts say Tekscend Photomask is following Kioxia's lead with new rules that allow upfront communication with investors before exchange approval.

The Trump administration intends to cancel the permit for the $6 billion Maryland Offshore Wind Project, Bloomberg writes. The US Wind project envisioned the installation of up to 114 turbines 10 nautical miles from Ocean City and was approved under Joe Biden in 2024.

Trump has been campaigning against wind power since his first days in office, suspending the issuance of new licenses, the agency recalls. Previously, his administration had already frozen the Orsted and Equinor projects, which brought down the companies' shares and jeopardized multibillion-dollar investments.

US Wind, controlled by Apollo Global Management and Toto Holding, said its permits are legally valid. Environmental organizations warn that the administration's actions will hit jobs, investors and consumers, depriving the country of cheap electricity.

Trump said that countries that retain digital taxes will face "additional duties" on exports to the United States, Reuters writes. He emphasized that such measures would be accompanied by restrictions on supplies of US technologies and chips.

We are talking about taxes imposed in a number of countries, primarily in Europe, on the income of digital giants like Google, Meta, Apple and Amazon. Washington has long considered such measures discriminatory. The agency's sources also report that the Trump administration is considering sanctions against EU officials responsible for implementing the Digital Services Act.

Trump has already threatened France, Canada and other nations over the issue. In February, he instructed the U.S. Trade Representative to resume investigations that could lead to the imposition of tariffs against countries that have taxed U.S. IT companies.

S&P Dow Jones Indices announced that Interactive Brokers shares will be included in the S&P 500 index starting Thursday instead of Walgreens Boots Alliance, which is being bought out by Sycamore Partners, CNBC reports. The brokerage's securities jumped nearly 5% in the aftermarket on the news. They are up 42% since the beginning of the year.

Investors were also expecting Robinhood to be included in the index, but its shares fell only slightly after the announcement. At the same time, Robinhood's capitalization has already approached $96 billion thanks to a growth of almost 190% since the beginning of the year.

In addition, Talen Energy will replace Interactive Brokers in the S&P MidCap 400, and Kinetik Holdings will enter the S&P SmallCap 600 in place of Pacific Premier Bancorp, which is being acquired by Columbia Banking System, the channel specified.

- Japan's broad Topix index was falling 0.98 percent.

- The benchmark Nikkei 225 was falling 1.06%.

- In South Korea, the Kospi index was up 1.05% and the Kosdaq small-company index was up 0.19%.

- Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was falling 0.35 percent.

- Futures on the S&P 500 were down 0.1 percent, the Nasdaq 100 was down 0.16 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.07 percent.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor