Market Summary
U.S. equities closed out a volatile week on a constructive note Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average leading a broad-based rebound. The DJIA surged 517.80 points (+0.98%) to 53,277.01, while the S&P 500 added 33.21 points (+0.43%) to 7,674.37 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 113.29 points (+0.43%) to 26,201.49. The rally extended beyond large caps, with the Russell 2000 outperforming (+0.9%) and the S&P MidCap 400 finishing in line with the S&P 500 (+0.4%). Stabilization in Treasury yields and crude oil after Thursday’s surge removed two key overhangs, allowing cyclical and value-oriented sectors to lead.
Sector rotation was the defining theme, as precious metals strength powered materials to the top of the leaderboard while continued weakness in semiconductors kept technology largely on the sidelines. Gold’s surge above $4,680/oz drove sharp gains in miners, while crypto-adjacent financials and select consumer names also stood out. Despite Friday’s bounce, the major averages finished the week firmly in the red — the S&P 500 fell 1.4%, the Nasdaq dropped 2.1%, and the DJIA lost 0.9% — as a sharp semiconductor pullback, rising oil prices, and climbing Treasury yields dominated the first four sessions.
Looking ahead, market participants are bracing for a pivotal week featuring the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge (July PCE) on Wednesday and NVIDIA’s earnings report after Wednesday’s close, which Briefing.com characterized as the centerpiece event following this week’s sharp swings across AI- and semiconductor-related names.
Market Snapshot
Index Levels (Friday, 21-Aug-26 close):
- DJIA: 53,277.01, +517.80 (+0.98%)
- Nasdaq Composite: 26,201.49, +113.29 (+0.43%)
- S&P 500: 7,674.37, +33.21 (+0.43%)
Breadth:
- NYSE: Advancers 1,652 / Decliners 1,068 | Volume 1.16 bln
- Nasdaq: Advancers 3,147 / Decliners 1,781 | Volume 7.44 bln
WaveFinder Market Breadth (2026-08-21):
- Primary Sentiment: Bullish | 4% Sentiment: Bullish | 40 SMA Sentiment: Neutral
- Primary Bulls 857 / Bears 526
- 4% Bulls 274 / Bears 77
- Above 20-day SMA: 60.0% | Above 40-day SMA: 54.9%
- 9-Month Bulls 31 / Bears 9 (Bull Follow-Through: 25%)
Year-to-Date 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
Ranked by Friday performance (Briefing.com Industry Watch), with WaveFinder ATR volatility context:
1. Materials +2.2% — ATR 1.88% (flat, P95) — led by precious-metals rally
2. Health Care +1.3% — ATR 3.58% (flat, P100) — Moderna rebound
3. Financials +1.0% — ATR 0.88% (falling, P26) — banks, crypto-linked names
4. Consumer Discretionary +0.9% — ATR 0.55% (falling, P47) — Tesla, Target, Ross Stores
5. Communication Services +0.9% — ATR 2.41% (rising, P100) — Alphabet, Meta
6. Industrials — listed among Friday’s “Strong” sectors (Briefing Industry Watch); no specific % disclosed — ATR -0.48% (falling, P0)
7. Information Technology — flat — ATR -1.05% (flat, P32) — software strength offset by semiconductor weakness
8. Consumer Staples — not specified for Friday — ATR 0.83% (flat, P58)
9. Energy -0.2% — ATR 3.39% (rising, P89) — crude little changed
10. Real Estate — listed among Friday’s “Weak” sectors; no specific % disclosed — ATR -0.21% (flat, P32)
11. Utilities -2.3% — ATR -2.41% (flat, P0) — the session’s lone sizable decliner
Key Earnings & Movers
- Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) $76.67, +$5.45 (+7.65%) — copper/gold miner rallied with precious metals surge
- Robinhood Markets (HOOD) $108.13, +$13.03 (+13.70%) — crypto-linked strength as Bitcoin extended its weekly surge
- Coinbase Global (COIN) $186.49, +$14.14 (+8.20%) — tracked Bitcoin’s advance
- Moderna (MRNA) $145.13, +$11.81 (+8.86%) — rebounded after giving back part of Wednesday’s cancer-vaccine rally
- 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 multi-year high
- Ross Stores (ROST) $239.04, +$10.05 (+4.39%) — beat-and-raise Q2 report (detailed below)
- Newmont Corp (NEM) $131.58, +$3.94 (+3.09%) — gold rally beneficiary
- Alphabet (GOOG) $341.75, +$3.55 (+1.05%) — helped lift communication services
- Meta Platforms (META) $549.90, +$4.07 (+0.75%) — helped lift communication services
- 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%) — capped a difficult week for chips ahead of Wednesday’s earnings report
- Boston Beer (SAM) — traded lower after disclosing CFO Diego Reynoso’s September 14 departure; CAO Matt Murphy named interim CFO effective September 15
Stock Spotlight
Ross Stores (ROST) delivered one of the session’s most notable earnings-driven moves, rallying after a strong Q2 (July) report released the prior evening. Revenue rose 13.3% year-over-year to $6.26 billion, beating expectations, while EPS of $2.66 included an approximately $0.60 benefit from tariff refunds — though results still topped estimates even excluding that benefit. Comparable sales increased a robust 10%, well above the company’s 6–7% guidance and marking a second consecutive quarter of double-digit comp growth, driven primarily by transaction growth from new, returning, and more-frequent existing shoppers.
Gross margin expanded 625 basis points year-over-year (610 bps at the operating level), including a 405 bp tariff-refund benefit; excluding that item, operating margin still expanded 205 bps on merchandise-margin gains and lower distribution costs. Management raised its full-year outlook despite tougher upcoming comparisons, guiding to FY27 EPS of $8.61–$8.77 and forecasting Q3 comp growth of 6–7% and Q4 growth of 4–5%. The company also increased its FY27 store-opening plan to 115 locations from 110, citing new stores performing ahead of plan — reinforcing confidence in the off-price retailer’s traffic-driven growth trajectory.
Bond Market & Treasuries
Treasuries finished the week on a lower note, giving back a midweek boost tied to the Treasury Department’s announcement of increased buybacks of longer-dated securities. Friday’s session saw a steady, unidirectional retreat in prices, with the 10-year yield finishing just below its 2026 high of 4.747% set at the end of July.
Yield Levels (Friday close):
- 2-year: 4.23%, +4 bps (+6 bps week)
- 3-year: 4.31%, +4 bps (+6 bps week)
- 5-year: 4.42%, +4 bps (+6 bps week)
- 10-year: 4.74%, +4 bps (+4 bps week)
- 30-year: 5.28%, +4 bps (+1 bp week)
Treasury Secretary Bessent reiterated that his department has multiple tools available to address potential liquidity issues, though the market remained in “show me” mode. The U.S. Dollar Index slipped 0.1% to 98.81, down 0.8% for the week and hovering near its lowest level since mid-May.
Commodities
- WTI Crude Oil: $87.07/bbl, -1.2% on the day (still up nearly $5/bbl for the week amid geopolitical tensions)
- Gold: $4,680.10/ozt, +2.4% (+$110.50) — extending August’s advance to nearly $600/oz
- Silver: $69.56/oz, +2.1%
- Copper: $6.59/lb, +1.9%
Overseas Markets
Asia: Japan’s flash August Manufacturing PMI hit 55.1 (as expected, prior 54.5), marking an eighth consecutive month of expansion; Services PMI rose to 52.3 (prior 51.2). Japan’s July National CPI rose 1.9% yr/yr (prior 1.6%), with Core CPI up 1.8% yr/yr as expected. South Korea’s exports through the first 20 days of August jumped 56% yr/yr, with chip exports nearly tripling; July PPI fell 0.4% m/m but rose 7.7% yr/yr. Australia’s flash Manufacturing PMI held at 52.0 with Services at 52.9. India’s flash Manufacturing PMI came in at 52.9 (below the 54.0 estimate) while Services beat at 54.5.
Europe: The eurozone’s flash August Composite reading expanded at its fastest pace in over four years, with Manufacturing PMI at 52.8 (vs. 51.8 expected) and Services at 51.7. Germany’s Manufacturing PMI surged to 54.1 (vs. 52.1 expected), though Services slipped to 48.5. The U.K.’s Manufacturing PMI came in at 51.5 with Services at 52.8; July Retail Sales fell 0.5% m/m and rose just 1.6% yr/yr, missing estimates. France’s Manufacturing PMI beat at 51.5, while its Business Survey improved to 103 from 101.
Currencies: EUR/USD unchanged at 1.1682; GBP/USD +0.2% to 1.3652; USD/CNH unchanged at 6.7206; USD/JPY unchanged at 159.02.
Economic Data
- Flash August S&P Global U.S. Services PMI: 56.8 (prior 54.6) — a notable acceleration
- Flash August S&P Global U.S. Manufacturing PMI: 53.2 (prior 53.9) — a modest deceleration
The stronger services reading helped offset softer manufacturing data, rounding out a light week of U.S. economic releases and supporting the broader risk-on tone into the close.
Looking Ahead
Monday: No notable economic data scheduled.
Tuesday: 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 results at 13:00 ET.
Wednesday: Weekly MBA Mortgage Index (prior -0.4%) at 7:00 ET; Q2 GDP – second estimate (consensus 1.5%, prior 1.5%); Q2 GDP Deflator – second estimate (consensus 6.3%, prior 6.3%); July Personal Income (consensus 0.2%, prior 0.2%); July Personal Spending (consensus 0.2%, prior 0.3%); July PCE Price Index (consensus 0.1%, prior -0.1%). NVIDIA (NVDA) reports earnings after the close — widely viewed as the week’s centerpiece event given recent volatility across semiconductor and AI-related stocks.
The broader earnings calendar also includes several additional retailers and high-profile software companies throughout the week.