🆕 Newsmakers — 9:30a ET, 2026-08-17 — new since last alert

📰 NEW MARKET THEMES: • Oil prices rise as Iran rules out interim deal extension, threatens to escalate conflict The memorandum of understanding that the U.S. and Iran signed on June 17 expires Monday. Iran's Foreign Ministry ruled out talks to extend the MoU, according to the state news agency Tasnim. — cnbc.com · 08/17 9:17a https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/17/oil-prices-iran-war-strait-hormuz.html • Israel Strikes Lebanon as US Prepares New Iran Sanctions Lebanon saw its deadliest day of fighting in months, heaping pressure on stalled US-Iran negotiations while Washington preps fresh sanctions. Bloomberg's Wendy Benjaminson has the latest. — youtube.com · 08/17 9:06a https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oPcApJw1Ao • New York Manufacturing Activity Accelerates in August The Federal Reserve Bank of New York said that its statewide manufacturing index of business conditions rose to 20.6, its highest reading in four years. — wsj.com · 08/17 9:05a https://www.wsj.com/economy/central-banking/new-york-manufacturing-activity-accelerates-in-august-88911983 • Canada Inflation Heats Up to 3% in July The consumer-price index rose 0.5% in July, bringing the annual inflation rate to 3%, Statistics Canada said. — wsj.com · 08/17 8:55a https://www.wsj.com/economy/central-banking/canada-inflation-heats-up-to-3-in-july-1c8548f3 • Steven Major Sees List of Factors in ‘Drip, Drip Higher' of Long-End Bonds Steven Major, global macro advisor at Tradition Dubai, says, “the focus is Jackson Hole already” for the bond market as he examines the factors he sees contributing to the move higher in the long end of the yield curve. -------- More on Bloomberg Television and Markets Like this… — youtube.com · 08/17 8:53a https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hRnQOsOo5k

🐘 NEW BIG-CAP MOVERS:

1. SOXL +5% $151.79 (42B cap) AI Infrastructure Trade Still Alive. Seize It with SOXL There's no denying that artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure equities endured a rough stretch in July and “rough” might even be an understatement. However, traders shouldn't write off the sector just yet because the AI infrastructure trade is already showing signs of life… — etftrends.com · 08/17 8:11a https://www.etftrends.com/leveraged-inverse-content-hub/ai-infrastructure-trade-still-alive-seize-it-with-soxl/

2. F +3% $14.37 (57B cap) (no fresh news today — likely technical / low-coverage move)

3. IREN +3% $45.24 (16B cap) Bitcoin Is Down 44% and Its Miners Are Up 90%. The AI Pivot Explains Everything. The Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF (NASDAQ:WGMI) is up 97% over the past year even though bitcoin has lost 46% of its value in the same window. — 247wallst.com · 08/16 2:21p https://247wallst.com/investing/etf/2026/08/16/bitcoin-is-down-44-and-its-miners-are-up-90-the-ai-pivot-explains-everything/

4. SOFI +2% $18.68 (24B cap) SoFi Technologies Should Continue To Outperform The Market Due To Its Growth Spurt SoFi Technologies remains a 'buy' as rapid innovation and robust membership growth drive outsized revenue and profit expansion. SOFI posted Q2 revenue of $1.22B, up 42.6% year-over-year, with net income and EBITDA also surging significantly. Memberships reached an all-time high… — seekingalpha.com · 08/17 9:11a https://seekingalpha.com/article/4937288-sofi-technologies-should-continue-to-outperform-the-market-due-to-its-growth-spurt

📈 NEW GAINERS:

1. HTFL +36% $42.08 (3.6B cap) HeartFlow: An Impressive MedTech Growth Play HeartFlow delivered a convincing Q2 with 48% sales growth and gross margins rising to 83%, driving strong market optimism. The company raised full-year revenue guidance to $246–$250 million, though the outlook appears conservative given recent momentum and sequential growth. Sha… — seekingalpha.com · 08/16 9:32a https://seekingalpha.com/article/4937139-heartflow-impressive-medtech-growth-play

2. VALN +26% $7.13 (681M cap) (no fresh news today — likely technical / low-coverage move)

3. TMCR +25% $7.69 (477M cap) (no fresh news today — likely technical / low-coverage move)

4. NBIL +18% $39.64 (339M cap) (no fresh news today — likely technical / low-coverage move)

5. METC +16% $12.25 (640M cap) (no fresh news today — likely technical / low-coverage move)

6. LPTH +16% $15.17 (938M cap) (no fresh news today — likely technical / low-coverage move)

— new items only (already-sent headlines filtered). Full list in the 10am/3pm digest.