Market Summary
U.S. equities closed out a volatile week on a firm note Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average leading a broad rebound as Treasury yields and oil prices stabilized following Thursday’s surge. The DJIA surged 517.80 points (+0.98%) to 53,277.01, while the S&P 500 added 33.21 points (+0.43%) to close at 7,674.37 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 113.29 points (+0.43%) to 26,201.49. Small- and mid-cap participation was notably strong, with the Russell 2000 outperforming at +0.9% while the S&P MidCap 400 matched the S&P 500’s gain.
Sector rotation was the dominant theme, with materials, financials, health care, and consumer discretionary leading the charge higher while utilities, real estate, and energy lagged. Precious metals provided a clear source of leadership as gold surged 2.4% to $4,680.10/oz, lifting miners Newmont (+3.09%) and Freeport-McMoRan (+7.65%). Crypto- and banking-related strength drove financials, with Robinhood (+13.70%) and Coinbase (+8.20%) among the market’s top performers as Bitcoin extended its weekly surge. Semiconductors remained the market’s soft spot, with the PHLX Semiconductor Index shedding 0.5% and capping a difficult week for the group, keeping the information technology sector roughly flat despite strength in software names.
Despite Friday’s constructive close, the week itself finished decisively lower across the board — the S&P 500 fell 1.4%, the Nasdaq dropped 2.1%, and the DJIA lost 0.9% — as a sharp semiconductor/AI momentum unwind combined with rising oil prices and elevated Treasury yields to pressure sentiment. Attention now turns to a critical week ahead featuring the Fed’s preferred PCE inflation gauge and NVIDIA’s highly anticipated earnings report Wednesday after the close.
Market Snapshot
| Index | Level | Change | % Change |
|—|—|—|—|
| Dow Jones | 53,277.01 | +517.80 | +0.98% |
| S&P 500 | 7,674.37 | +33.21 | +0.43% |
| Nasdaq Composite | 26,201.49 | +113.29 | +0.43% |
NYSE Breadth: Advancers 1,652 | Decliners 1,068 | Volume 1.16 bln
Nasdaq Breadth: Advancers 3,147 | Decliners 1,781 | Volume 7.44 bln
WaveFinder Breadth (as of 8/21/26):
- Primary Sentiment: Bullish (Bulls 857 | Bears 526)
- 4% Sentiment: Bullish (Bulls 274 | Bears 77)
- 40 SMA Sentiment: Neutral
- Stocks Above 20-day SMA: 60%
- Stocks Above 40-day SMA: 54.9%
- 9-Month Bulls: 31 | Bears: 9 (Follow-Through: 25%)
YTD Performance: Russell 2000 +21.6% | S&P MidCap 400 +15.9% | Nasdaq Composite +12.6% | S&P 500 +12.1% | DJIA +10.9%
Sector Performance
1. Materials +2.2% — precious metals rally (gold, silver) drove Newmont, Freeport-McMoRan gains
2. Health Care +1.3% — Moderna rebound led the group
3. Financials +1.0% — bank strength plus crypto-linked names (Robinhood, Coinbase)
4. Consumer Discretionary +0.9% — Tesla, Target, Ross Stores catalysts (Briefing Industry Watch: Strong)
5. Communication Services +0.9% — Alphabet, Meta gains (WaveFinder ATR: 2.41%, rising, P100 — elevated volatility)
6. Industrials — categorized “Strong” per Industry Watch; specific % not disclosed (WaveFinder ATR: -0.48%, falling, P0)
7. Information Technology ~flat — software strength offset by semiconductor weakness (PHLX Semis -0.5%); WaveFinder ATR -1.05%, flat, P32
8. Consumer Staples — no specific daily figure provided (WaveFinder ATR: 0.83%, flat, P58)
9. Energy -0.2% — crude oil little changed, removing prior-day headwind
10. Real Estate — categorized “Weak” per Industry Watch; specific % not disclosed (WaveFinder ATR: -0.21%, flat, P32)
11. Utilities -2.3% — sole S&P 500 sector posting a sizable decline (WaveFinder ATR: -2.41%, flat, P0)
Key Earnings & Movers
- Robinhood Markets (HOOD) $108.13, +13.03 (+13.70%) — crypto-related strength as Bitcoin extended its weekly surge
- Coinbase Global (COIN) $186.49, +14.14 (+8.20%) — riding the same Bitcoin tailwind
- Moderna (MRNA) $145.13, +11.81 (+8.86%) — rebounded after paring Wednesday’s cancer-vaccine rally
- Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) $76.67, +5.45 (+7.65%) — gold/copper price surge
- Tesla (TSLA) $362.86, +17.73 (+5.14%) — Nevada approved robotaxi services in Clark County
- Target (TGT) $165.42, +7.17 (+4.53%) — extended post-earnings momentum to a new multi-year high
- Ross Stores (ROST) $239.04, +10.05 (+4.39%) — beat-and-raise Q2 earnings report
- Newmont Corp (NEM) $131.58, +3.94 (+3.09%) — gold rally
- Alphabet (GOOG) $341.75, +3.55 (+1.05%) — lifted communication services
- Meta Platforms (META) $549.90, +4.07 (+0.75%)
- Marvell Technology (MRVL) $237.04, -13.97 (-5.57%) — profit-taking after Wednesday’s ~10% surge on Alphabet custom-silicon deal
- NVIDIA (NVDA) $214.76, -2.09 (-0.96%) — cautious positioning ahead of Wednesday’s earnings report
- Boston Beer (SAM) — trading lower after CFO Diego Reynoso announced departure effective September 14; CAO Matt Murphy named interim CFO
Stock Spotlight
Ross Stores (ROST) delivered the session’s standout earnings story, rallying 4.39% to $239.04 after a strong fiscal Q2 (July) report released the prior evening. The off-price retailer topped both revenue and EPS expectations, with revenue climbing 13.3% year-over-year to $6.26 billion and EPS of $2.66 (which included an approximately $0.60 benefit from tariff refunds — though results still beat estimates excluding that benefit). Comparable sales surged 10%, well above the company’s 6-7% plan and marking a second consecutive quarter of double-digit comp growth, driven primarily by transaction growth from new, returning, and existing customers shopping more frequently.
Margin performance was equally impressive: gross margin expanded 625 basis points and operating margin expanded 610 basis points year-over-year (including the 405 bp tariff-refund benefit), with underlying operating margin still up 205 bps on merchandise margin gains and lower distribution costs. Management raised its back-half outlook despite tougher comparisons, guiding to Q3 comp growth of 6-7% and Q4 growth of 4-5%, while lifting FY27 EPS guidance to $8.61-$8.77 and increasing its FY27 store-opening plan to 115 locations from 110. The results reinforce a durable, broad-based demand recovery across income and age cohorts for the off-price channel.
Bond Market & Treasuries
Treasuries finished the week on a lower note, giving back a brief midweek boost that followed news the Treasury will increase its buyback allowance for longer-dated tenors. Friday’s session saw a steady retreat across the curve, with the 10-year yield finishing just below its 2026 high from late July (4.747%).
Yield Levels (Friday close):
- 2-year: 4.23% (+4 bps day / +6 bps week)
- 3-year: 4.31% (+4 bps day / +6 bps week)
- 5-year: 4.42% (+4 bps day / +6 bps week)
- 10-year: 4.74% (+4 bps day / +4 bps week)
- 30-year: 5.28% (+4 bps day / +1 bp week)
Key drivers: Treasury Secretary Bessent reiterated his department has “multiple tools” to address liquidity issues, though the market remains in “show-me” mode. USD/JPY held at 159.02; EUR/USD unchanged at 1.1682; GBP/USD +0.2% to 1.3652. The U.S. Dollar Index slipped 0.1% to 98.81, its lowest level since mid-May, down 0.8% for the week.
Commodities
- WTI Crude Oil: -1.2% to $87.07/bbl (little changed on the session, up nearly $5/bbl on the week)
- Gold: +2.4% ($110.50) to $4,680.10/ozt — extending its August advance to nearly $600/oz
- Silver: +2.1% to $69.56/oz
- Copper: +1.9% to $6.59/lb
Overseas Markets
Overnight action was subdued across Asia and Europe, but PMI data broadly impressed. Japan’s flash August Manufacturing PMI hit 55.1 (as expected, prior 54.5), marking an eighth consecutive month of expansion, while flash Services PMI came in at 52.3 (prior 51.2). Eurozone flash Manufacturing PMI printed 52.8 (expected 51.8, prior 51.9) — its fastest pace of expansion in over four years — with Services PMI at 51.7. Germany’s Manufacturing PMI surged to 54.1 (expected 52.1) though Services softened to 48.5. France’s Manufacturing PMI reached 51.5 while Services slipped to 48.4; the August Business Survey rose to 103 from 101. In the U.K., July Retail Sales fell 0.5% m/m (better than the -0.4% expected) but decelerated to +1.6% yr/yr; flash Manufacturing PMI was 51.5 and Services PMI 52.8. India’s flash Manufacturing PMI came in at 52.9 (below the 54.0 expected) with Services at 54.5. South Korea reported exports up 56% yr/yr through the first 20 days of August, with chip exports nearly tripling, while its finance ministry flagged close monitoring of rising global bond yields. China’s July FDI fell 6.2% year-to-date.
Economic Data
- Flash August S&P Global U.S. Services PMI: 56.8, up sharply from 54.6 in July — signals accelerating service-sector expansion
- Flash August S&P Global U.S. Manufacturing PMI: 53.2, down modestly from 53.9 in July
The stronger services print helped support Friday’s rebound narrative alongside stabilizing yields and oil prices.
Looking Ahead
Monday (8/24): Nothing of note scheduled.
Tuesday (8/25): June FHFA Housing Price Index (prior +0.3%); July S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index (consensus +1.8%, prior +1.6%) at 9:00 ET; July New Home Sales (consensus 620,000, prior 628,000) and August Consumer Confidence (consensus 90.6, prior 90.8) at 10:00 ET; $69 billion 2-year Treasury note auction at 13:00 ET.
Wednesday (8/26): Weekly MBA Mortgage Index (prior -0.4%) at 7:00 ET; Q2 GDP second estimate (consensus +1.5%, prior +1.5%) and Q2 GDP Deflator second estimate (consensus 6.3%, prior 6.3%); July Personal Income (consensus +0.2%, prior +0.2%), Personal Spending (consensus +0.2%, prior +0.3%), and PCE Price Index (consensus +0.1%, prior -0.1%) — the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge.
Key catalyst: NVIDIA (NVDA) reports earnings after Wednesday’s close — the centerpiece event of the week given the sharp swings across semiconductor and AI-related stocks. The broader earnings calendar also includes several retailers and high-profile software companies.