Market Summary
Equities are firmer at midday on August 19, with the S&P 500 up 35.22 points (+0.46%) to 7726.98, the Nasdaq Composite up 109.88 points (+0.42%) to 26420.62, and the DJIA up 153.20 points (+0.29%) to 53496.60. The tape has stabilized after touching stronger levels near 11:05 ET, when the S&P 500 was up as much as 0.7% and the DJIA was up 353 points, before gains moderated into the noon hour.
The dominant story of the session is Moderna’s (MRNA) explosive rally of more than 125% following positive late-stage results from an experimental personalized mRNA melanoma vaccine developed with Merck (MRK), which has propelled the health care sector to a session-leading gain of roughly 2.9%-3.1% and pushed the SPDR Biotech ETF (XBI) toward its 2021 record high. A second tailwind emerged before the open when the U.S. Treasury announced it will at least double the size of its liquidity-support buyback operations for longer-dated securities starting September 9, sending yields lower across the curve (30-year down 7-8 bps to 4.21%/5.20% depending on the reading) and lifting rate-sensitive consumer discretionary names, including post-earnings pops in Target (TGT) and Lowe’s (LOW).
Offsetting the broad-based strength is continued weakness in semiconductors, with the PHLX Semiconductor Index down roughly 1.6% amid ongoing volatility that triggered a trading halt in South Korea’s Kospi overnight (-5.8%). Memory names (STX, WDC) and computer hardware names (DELL, HPE) are among the market’s worst performers, keeping the information technology sector (-0.4%) and industrials in negative territory even as breadth remains solidly positive — advancers outpace decliners by roughly 2-to-1 on the NYSE and 3-to-5 on the Nasdaq.
Market Snapshot
| Index | Level | Change | % Change |
|—|—|—|—|
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 53,496.60 | +153.20 | +0.29% |
| Nasdaq Composite | 26,420.62 | +109.88 | +0.42% |
| S&P 500 | 7,726.98 | +35.22 | +0.46% |
Breadth (Briefing.com, midday):
- NYSE: Advancers 1,821 | Decliners 787 | Volume 278.77 mln
- Nasdaq: Advancers 2,573 | Decliners 1,549 | Volume 3.95 bln
WaveFinder Breadth Metrics:
- Primary Sentiment: Bullish (Bulls 1,263 | Bears 734)
- 4% Sentiment: Very Bullish (Bulls 361 | Bears 88)
- 40 SMA Sentiment: Bearish
- % of Stocks Above 20-day SMA: 36%
- % of Stocks Above 40-day SMA: 55.1%
- 9-Month Bulls: 56 | Bears: 6 (37.5% Bull Follow-Through)
Sector Performance
Ranked using Briefing.com Industry Watch designations and available sector moves, with WaveFinder ATR (volatility) context:
1. Health Care — Strong, +2.9% to +3.1% intraday | ATR 3.09% (falling, P89)
2. Consumer Discretionary — +1.9% (per 11:30 update), retail-led | ATR 0.50% (falling, P42)
3. Materials — Strong (no specific % provided) | ATR 1.61% (falling, P79)
4. Consumer Staples — Strong (no specific % provided) | ATR 0.72% (flat, P53)
5. Energy — Strong (no specific % provided) | ATR 3.37% (rising, P95)
6. Financials — Not flagged strong/weak | ATR 0.61% (flat, P0)
7. Real Estate — Not flagged strong/weak | ATR -0.53% (flat, P16)
8. Utilities — Not flagged strong/weak | ATR -1.09% (flat, P16)
9. Communication Services — Not flagged strong/weak | ATR 2.36% (rising, P100)
10. Industrials — Weak (no specific % provided) | ATR 0.47% (falling, P5)
11. Information Technology — Weak, -0.4% | ATR -0.80% (rising, P58)
Key Earnings & Movers
- Moderna (MRNA) 143.26, +80.30 (+127.54%) — Positive late-stage melanoma vaccine trial results with Merck
- Merck (MRK) 149.62, +14.45 (+10.69%) — Partner on Moderna’s cancer vaccine trial
- Eli Lilly (LLY) 1271.37, +45.64 (+3.72%) — Health care sector’s largest component adds to sector strength
- SPDR Biotech ETF (XBI) 165.81, +5.70 (+3.56%) — Approaching 2021 record high (174.79)
- Target (TGT) 160.94, +8.46 (+5.55%) — Stronger-than-expected Q2, merchandising reset gaining traction, ~$1.65/share tariff refund benefit
- Lowe’s (LOW) 222.15, +6.51 (+3.02%) — Mixed Q2, lowered FY outlook, Pro/Online/Home Services offsetting soft DIY demand
- Seagate Technology (STX) 843.56, -60.12 (-6.65%) — Memory sector weakness
- Western Digital (WDC) 470.06, -26.10 (-5.26%) — Memory sector weakness
- Dell (DELL) 436.48, -32.17 (-6.86%) — Computer hardware laggard
- Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) 52.62, -3.07 (-5.51%) — Computer hardware laggard
- Analog Devices (ADI) — Trading modestly higher (+1%) after record $4.02 bln Q3 revenue (+39.2% yr/yr), better-than-expected Q4 guidance
Stock Spotlight
Moderna (MRNA) is the standout story of the session, surging more than 127% to $143.26 after the company reported encouraging late-stage trial results for a personalized mRNA melanoma therapy developed in partnership with Merck (MRK), which itself rose 10.69% to $149.62 on the news. The move has been powerful enough to single-handedly lift the entire health care sector to a session-leading gain of roughly 3%, with biotechnology broadly participating in the rally — the SPDR Biotech ETF (XBI) climbed 3.56% to $165.81, moving toward its record high of 174.79 set in early 2021.
The scale of the move — more than doubling in value at one point during the morning session — underscores the market’s continued appetite for high-conviction binary biotech catalysts even amid a backdrop of elevated volatility in growth and momentum names elsewhere in the market. Eli Lilly (LLY), the health care sector’s largest component, added a solid +3.72% gain of its own, reinforcing sector-wide strength, while managed care names lagged as relative underperformers within health care.
Bond Market & Treasuries
Treasuries have extended Tuesday’s bounce, aided by the Treasury Department’s announcement that it will at least double the size of its liquidity-support buyback operations for longer-dated nominal securities beginning September 9. As of the 9:28 ET update:
- 2-year: 4.17% (-1 bp)
- 3-year: 4.24% (-1 bp)
- 5-year: 4.33% (-3 bps)
- 10-year: 4.65% (-6 bps)
- 30-year: 5.20% (-8 bps)
The U.S. Dollar Index fell 0.7% to 99.00, dropping below its 200-day moving average (99.18) to its lowest level since early June. A $16 bln 20-year Treasury bond auction is scheduled for 13:00 ET, followed by the release of July FOMC Minutes at 14:00 ET. Yesterday’s session saw the 30-year yield notch a fresh 2026 high (5.326%) before recovering; the 2-year finished unchanged at 4.18% and the 10-year settled two basis points lower at 4.71%.
Commodities
(As of overnight/premarket update, 07:56 ET)
- WTI Crude Oil: $85.85/bbl, +1.1% overnight (prior session settled +0.5% at $84.88/bbl amid Strait of Hormuz tensions)
- Gold: $4,419.00/ozt, unchanged
- Copper: $6.42/lb, -1.1%
- Silver: not provided in source data
Overseas Markets
Asia: South Korea’s Kospi fell 5.8% overnight and triggered a trading halt amid renewed chip-stock volatility, deepening Tuesday’s reversal from its highest level since mid-July. Japanese Government Bonds (JGBs) bounced after recent weakness had pushed longer-dated yields to fresh 2026 highs. Japan’s June Core Machinery Orders rose 9.7% m/m (vs. 7.2% expected) and 16.9% yr/yr (vs. 10.8% expected). Australia’s Q2 Wage Price Index rose 0.8% qtr/qtr and 3.2% yr/yr, in line with expectations. New Zealand’s Q2 Input PPI rose 2.9% qtr/qtr (vs. 1.3% expected) and Output PPI rose 1.6% qtr/qtr (vs. 0.8% expected).
Europe: Eurozone July CPI rose 0.2% m/m and 2.9% yr/yr, both in line with expectations; Core CPI was unchanged m/m and rose 2.5% yr/yr. Eurozone June Current Account surplus reached EUR35.10 bln, above the EUR26.8 bln expected. U.K. July CPI rose 0.3% m/m and 2.9% yr/yr, as expected; Core CPI rose 0.2% m/m (vs. 0.1% expected) and 2.6% yr/yr (vs. 2.5% expected), signaling somewhat stubborn inflation. U.K. July Input PPI fell 1.7% m/m (vs. flat expected); Output PPI rose 0.2% m/m as expected. Swiss Q2 Industrial Production rose 5.5% yr/yr, well above the -4.7% expected decline.
Economic Data
Today (Aug 19): Weekly MBA Mortgage Index fell 0.4% (prior +3.6%). No other top-tier U.S. data is scheduled today; markets await weekly crude oil inventories (10:30 ET, prior +17.4 mln) and July FOMC Minutes (14:00 ET).
Yesterday (Aug 18, for context): July Housing Starts fell sharply to 1.239 mln (consensus 1.360 mln; prior revised to 1.415 mln from 1.427 mln), reflecting broad-based weakness in single-unit starts amid rising financing costs. July Building Permits came in at 1.443 mln (consensus 1.390 mln; prior revised to 1.374 mln from 1.367 mln). July Import Prices fell 0.4% (prior revised to -0.3% from +0.3%); Import Prices ex-oil rose 0.4%. Export Prices fell 1.3%; Export Prices ex-ag. fell 1.5%.
Looking Ahead
- 13:00 ET (today): Results of $16 bln 20-year Treasury bond auction (prior auction high yield: 5.163%, bid-to-cover: 2.64, indirect bid: 69.1%)
- 14:00 ET (today): Release of July FOMC Minutes
- 10:30 ET (today): Weekly crude oil inventories (prior build of +17.4 mln bbl)
- Continued focus on semiconductor sector volatility following the Kospi trading halt and PHLX Semiconductor Index weakness
- Monitoring for follow-through in health care/biotech strength following Moderna’s melanoma trial results
- Watching Treasury yield direction following the Treasury’s buyback announcement and its impact on rate-sensitive sectors (housing, consumer discretionary)