Top Pros' Top Picks 8/24/26

Market Minute ⏱️ 8/24/26: Canada Trade War, AI Capex Eyed

Mike Larson | Editor-in-Chief

Markets are subdued in early trading, with stocks flat, oil down, and gold up. Treasuries and the dollar are recouping some ground they lost recently.

The US and Canada failed to reach a trade deal late last week, prompting the Trump Administration to slap tariffs of up to 50% on $20 billion of imports from Canada. Canada pledged retaliatory tariffs on a “dollar for dollar” basis, effective Sept. 8.

Vehicle tariffs were reportedly a key sticking point. Through last Friday, the Canadian S&P/TSX Composite Index (^TSX:CA) was slightly outperforming the US S&P 500 Index (^SPX) - up 14.9% vs. 12.1%.

TSX (Red), S&P 500 (Blue) – YTD % Change

In other news, semiconductor giant Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) will report earnings on Wednesday - at a time when the “AI Trade” is evolving. Chip and hyperscaler stocks have gotten more volatile this summer as AI spending tallies rise and ROI questions grow.

Analysts expect adjusted earnings to roughly double in the fiscal second quarter to $2.09. Revenue is anticipated to rise 97% to around $92 billion. Nvidia stock has risen 15.1% year-to-date.

The other potentially big market-moving event this week will be in Wyoming. Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh will speak Friday at the Fed’s annual gathering of economists and policymakers in Jackson Hole. His highly anticipated speech comes amid spiking government bond yields - and largely unsuccessful efforts by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to tamp them down.

Finally, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (BABA) shook up Asian markets after announcing plans to sell $10.2 billion in additional shares in Hong Kong to fund AI-related investments. The secondary offering of 710 million shares added to those aforementioned concerns about AI capex costs. Alibaba’s US-traded shares are down 19% YTD.

Editor’s Note: I’ll be on-site hosting our 2026 MoneyShow Masters Symposium San Francisco this week. Look for a Thursday issue of Top Pros’ Top Picks featuring this week’s podcast. Otherwise, regular issues will resume publication on Monday Aug. 31.

• VGT: A Way to Profit from Three Bullish Stock Market Cycles
  👉️ TICKER: VGT
  I keep seeing headlines along the lines of “10 Reasons the S&P 500 Will Crash.” But thanks to three cycles hard at work powering up stocks, I expect a strong finish in 2026. Since technology continues to lead this bull market, one simple way to ride it is the Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT), writes Sean Brodrick, editor at Weiss Ratings Daily.

• IWC: A Microcap Fund to Target Amid Mixed Market News
  👉️ TICKER: IWC
  US stocks did their best to overcome continued pressure from the sell-off of AI companies recently. But additional headwinds were evident as the 60-day US-Iranian “ceasefire” clock expired with both sides far from any agreement or extension. The iShares Micro-cap ETF (IWC) is a new buy here, writes Brian Kelly, editor of MoneyLetter.

🤖 📈 Discover the “Human-AI Edge” – and how to profit in this evolving market – at the 2026 MoneyShow Masters Symposium San Francisco! Click HERE to learn more about the Aug. 25-28 conference at the Fairmont San Francisco.