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Samuel & Co Trading
Market Brief
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Issue #012 • Thursday 27 August 2026 • Your no-noise market read
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Today’s big picture
AI passed the test.
The bill is next.
Nvidia delivered the numbers. The harder question now is whether the next phase of the AI build-out can justify its cost while long-dated yields stay elevated.
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IN 60 SECONDS
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Earnings
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Nvidia reported $96.2bn of revenue. Data Centre revenue was $89.0bn, up 117% year-on-year.
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Rates
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The 10-year Treasury yield is 4.64%. The 30-year is 5.17%. The cost of capital is still part of the AI story.
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Equities
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The benchmark has moved. Good results remain essential, but investors are now judging the breadth, financing and durability of the build-out.
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01
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Earnings
Nvidia did not lower the bar. It raised it.
Nvidia’s second-quarter revenue reached $96.2bn, up 106% from a year earlier. Data Centre revenue came in at $89.0bn, while third-quarter revenue guidance is $108.0bn, plus or minus 2%. The demand signal remains emphatic.
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Why should I care?
The market has moved past asking whether AI demand exists. It does. The next test is whether suppliers, cloud platforms and the companies paying for capacity can keep converting that demand into returns.
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02
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Bonds
The AI trade has entered its funding phase.
The latest results validate the revenue side of the AI build-out. The bond market still sets the price of the capital behind it. With the US 10-year yield at 4.64% and the 30-year at 5.17%, investors cannot separate technology optimism from financial conditions.
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Why should I care?
Higher long-dated yields make future earnings worth less today. That does not end the AI trend, but it raises the standard for every company trading on distant cash flows rather than current profits.
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03
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Equities
One strong report is not the whole market.
The cleanest read from this quarter is not simply that Nvidia remains strong. It is that the AI theme now needs more than one bellwether. I am watching for evidence that the gains extend from chips into power, infrastructure, software and the companies that can show a credible payback from AI investment.
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Why should I care?
A broader leadership group makes a market move more resilient. A narrow one makes it more dependent on each earnings release being exceptional. That distinction matters as expectations keep rising.
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UK watch
Sterling has eased. Gilts still set the UK tone.
GBP/USD is 1.3580, while the FTSE 100 is 10,822.69. The UK does not have a direct Nvidia equivalent, but it still feels the same forces through global risk appetite, the cost of capital and the sterling–gilt relationship ahead of the autumn Budget.
Market pulse
| S&P 500 |
7,675.70 |
-0.02% |
| Nasdaq |
26,130.20 |
-0.08% |
| VIX |
14.92 |
-1.91% |
| FTSE 100 |
10,822.69 |
-0.51% |
| GBP/USD |
1.3580 |
-0.49% |
| USD/JPY |
159.4580 |
+0.15% |
| Gold |
$4,644.20 |
+1.00% |
| Brent crude |
$87.44 |
-0.46% |
| Bitcoin |
$79,668.79 |
+0.81% |
Delayed market data. Retrieved at 12:19 BST on 27 August 2026. US equity-index figures use the latest available closing levels.
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Samuel’s market map
What I’m watching from here.
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01
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AI earnings
Nvidia confirmed demand. I now want to see the next set of reports validate the rest of the AI chain, not just the chip supplier at its centre.
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02
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Rates
A strong earnings narrative can coexist with a difficult bond market. The path of long-dated yields still matters for the most highly valued parts of the equity market.
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03
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UK assets
For sterling and the FTSE, the key is still the gilt-market backdrop. A softer pound is manageable; a renewed credibility premium in UK borrowing costs is the risk to watch.
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Sources: NVIDIA Q2 FY27 financial results; Federal Reserve H.15 interest-rate data; Reuters reporting on UK currency markets; Yahoo Finance delayed market data. Market figures retrieved on 27 August 2026.
This newsletter is for education and market commentary only. It is not personalised financial advice or a recommendation to buy, sell, or trade any instrument. Trading involves risk and you are responsible for your own decisions.
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