Daily Market Movers — Friday, August 7, 2026

Geopolitics & International Security Implied question: Is the Middle East conflict winding down or getting worse? Direct answer: No. Diplomatic efforts are moving forward, but active combat and new attacks are intensifying. US President Donald Trump said he expects the war on Iran to end "pretty soon," and Iran and Oman neared a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Those hopes were undercut fast: two explosions were heard on Iran's Qeshm Island after its armed forces confronted "hostile enemy targets" at the strait's entrance. Yemen's Houthi rebels launched a missile and drone barrage against Saudi-backed forces in Marib and Hadramout, killing at least 58 troops in one of the deadliest single-day tolls in four years. Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan signed a joint defence pact in Jeddah, marking a realignment of regional military power. Uganda authorised troop deployments to Gaza as part of a post-war stabilisation force. The UN Security Council condemned a suicide bombing in Pakistan's Swat district that killed 16 people. Economy & Trade Implied question: Should I be worried about market volatility or new trade barriers? Direct answer: Yes. Fresh trade restrictions and geopolitical jitters are pressuring global markets. President Trump signed an executive order imposing minimum import prices and a 15% tariff on polysilicon, a key input for solar panels and semiconductors, which will raise costs for downstream industries. Stock markets in Malaysia and South Korea fell sharply, driven by renewed Middle East tensions and caution ahead of key US jobs data. No positive economic surprise offset these pressures on the day. Health & Domestic News (Malaysia & Global) Implied question: Is the Ebola outbreak under control, and is Malaysia's political situation stable? Direct answer: The Ebola crisis is not under control. Malaysia faces political uncertainty but shows strength in its EV industry. The Democratic Republic of the Congo reported 4,053 confirmed Ebola cases and 1,850 deaths, numbers still rising with no sign of a peak. In Malaysia, former Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob was hospitalised just before his scheduled court appearance on corruption charges. Malaysian political parties began preliminary seat-allocation talks for the upcoming Melaka state election. Proton e.MAS surpassed 30,000 electrified vehicle registrations in only 20 months. Cultural Events Implied question: Is there anything worth attending or watching in Malaysia right now? Direct answer: Yes. Several cultural performances and entertainment shows are running across Malaysia this week. The "My Dear Sarawak" festival launched in Sarikei (running August 7–9) with cultural nights and traditional performances. In Kuala Lumpur, concerts by Novak and HONNE drew crowds, alongside the semi-finals of Malaysia Got Talent (UNI Edition) 2026.

Top Gainers Analysis

Binance 24h data shows BICO leading with a 27.5% gain as of 11:30 UTC on August 7, after a rebound off recent lows. Lighter (LIT) rose 11.08% to $2.37 following the launch of a pre-IPO token market and a prover challenge with Eigen Labs. Cardano (ADA) climbed 6.11% to $0.1993 on its Hydra layer-2 demonstration and the Dijkstra era treasury funding announcement. LayerZero (ZRO) gained 5.54% to $0.8182, while MMT advanced 11.97% on OKX as capital rotated into small-cap interoperability plays. Total crypto market cap sits near $2.19 trillion, up 0.24% on the day.

Biggest Losers

Notable Losers

Bitcoin traded at $64,326.2 on August 7, down 0.51% from the prior day, according to KuCoin data. Ethereum held at $1,904.01, a 0.25% decline. Global crypto market capitalization stood at $2.19 trillion, a 0.70% decrease over the last day, per eToro data. Total crypto trading volume was $56.67 billion, per KuCoin data. Binance's 24-hour spot trading volume reached $21.80 billion, per Binance spot data. Perpetual DEX aggregate market volume has fallen 63.4% from the October 2024 peak of roughly $1.36 trillion, according to TradingBeats monitoring. Coinglass data shows total liquidations over the past 24 hours reached $152 million: $88.73 million in long liquidations and $63.05 million in short liquidations. DefiLlama data dated August 7 shows DeFi total value locked at $75.12 billion as of Thursday UTC, down 0.3% from $75.31 billion a week earlier. That figure sits roughly 34% below the year-to-date level of about $114.45 billion. Ethereum held $41.41 billion in TVL, 55.13% of the total, while BNB Chain followed with $4.88 billion. The S&P 500 closed at 7,709.96, down 13.59 points or 0.18%. The Nasdaq Composite fell 15.09 points to 26,348.35. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 464.02 points to 53,885.10. The USD/CNY central parity rate weakened 9 pips to 6.7904, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System. Markets moved sideways ahead of the US nonfarm payroll report. The Fear & Greed Index sat at 38, "Fear," per KuCoin data. US initial jobless claims for the week ending August 1 came in at 199,000, below expectations of 202,000. Oil prices rose, with Brent crude gaining 3.8% to $82.49, on uncertainty over the US-Iran conflict. The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.67% from 4.63%.

What to Watch

• Watch BTC support at $64,689, as CoinGecko data shows a 0.3% daily decline.
• Monitor Fear & Greed at 29, as Alternative.me data indicates continued market fear.
• Track total crypto market cap, with CoinGecko data showing a 0.5% decline.
• Observe BTC volume trends, as rising volume above $64,689 could signal recovery.
• Monitor altcoin correlation, as CoinGecko data shows BTC weakness pressuring broader markets.