Market Summary
U.S. equities closed out a volatile week on a lower note Friday, as the S&P 500 shed 19.23 points (-0.25%) to settle at 7711.76, the Nasdaq Composite dropped 138.93 points (-0.52%) to 26423.47, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped a more modest 9.45 points (-0.02%) to 53559.99. The session was dominated by Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s Jackson Hole address, in which he reiterated that inflation remains above the Fed’s 2% target and that price stability should be the central bank’s “predominant focus.” That hawkish tone triggered a sharp repricing of September rate-hike odds and sent Treasury yields higher across the curve, hitting smaller-cap names especially hard.
Beneath the headline numbers, the market showed a pronounced split. Non-semiconductor mega-caps — led by Amazon (+3.97%), Microsoft (+1.68%), Apple (+1.63%), and Alphabet (+1.53%) — provided ballast for the Dow and S&P, lifting the consumer discretionary and communication services sectors to the top of the leaderboard. Meanwhile, semiconductors were routed, with the PHLX Semiconductor Index tumbling 3.5% as NVIDIA (-4.61%) surrendered a large chunk of its post-earnings gains and Marvell (-10.28%) sold off despite raising its long-term AI revenue targets. Small- and mid-cap stocks bore the brunt of the rate repricing, with the Russell 2000 falling 1.4% and the S&P Mid Cap 400 declining 1.2% on the day.
Despite Friday’s pullback, all three major averages finished the week higher — the Nasdaq +1.9%, S&P 500 +0.5%, and DJIA +0.5% — powered almost entirely by mega-cap growth and software earnings strength, while the Russell 2000 (-1.5%) and S&P Mid Cap 400 (-1.3%) lagged for the week. WaveFinder breadth data show a market still constructive on a primary trend basis (Bullish) but fragile beneath the surface, with only 19% of stocks above their 20-day moving average even as 50.98% remain above their 40-day average — evidence of the narrow, mega-cap-led leadership that has characterized the tape.
Market Snapshot
| Index | Level | Change | % Change |
|—|—|—|—|
| S&P 500 | 7711.76 | -19.23 | -0.25% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 53559.99 | -9.45 | -0.02% |
| Nasdaq Composite | 26423.47 | -138.93 | -0.52% |
Breadth (NYSE): Advancers 1,141 | Decliners 1,570 | Volume 1.01 bln
Breadth (Nasdaq): Advancers 1,512 | Decliners 3,399 | Volume 8.51 bln
WaveFinder Breadth Metrics:
- Primary Sentiment: Bullish
- 4% Sentiment: Very Bearish
- 40 SMA Sentiment: Neutral
- Primary Bulls/Bears: 781 / 542
- 4% Bulls/Bears: 76 / 333
- Stocks Above 20-day SMA: 19%
- Stocks Above 40-day SMA: 50.98%
- 9-Month Bulls/Bears: 7 / 26
- 9-Month Bull Follow-Through: 9.8%
Year-to-Date Performance: Russell 2000 +19.8% | S&P Mid Cap 400 +14.4% | Nasdaq Composite +13.6% | S&P 500 +12.7% | DJIA +11.4%
Sector Performance
Strong / Advancing:
1. Consumer Discretionary: +1.7% (AMZN leadership)
2. Communication Services: +1.6% (GOOG strength); WaveFinder ATR 2.98%, rising, P89
3. Financials: +0.3%; WaveFinder ATR 0.81%, rising, P32
4. Consumer Staples: Strong (specific % not disclosed); WaveFinder ATR 0.66%, flat, P47
5. Energy: Strong (specific % not disclosed); WaveFinder ATR 2.33%, falling, P63
Weak / Declining:
6. Industrials: -1.0%; WaveFinder ATR -1.25%, falling, P0
7. Utilities: -1.1%; WaveFinder ATR -2.37%, falling, P5
8. Information Technology: -1.3% (semiconductor-led); WaveFinder ATR -1.06%, flat, P11
9. Materials: Weak (specific % not disclosed); WaveFinder ATR 1.00%, flat, P16
10. Real Estate: Weak (specific % not disclosed); WaveFinder ATR -1.23%, flat, P0
Not specified: Health Care — not included in today’s Briefing.com Industry Watch list (WaveFinder ATR 2.59%, flat, P47); note weekly wrap flagged Health Care -2.0% for the week overall.
Six of eleven S&P 500 sectors finished lower on the session, with semiconductor weakness the single largest drag on the index-level tape.
Key Earnings & Movers
- Amazon (AMZN) 266.43, +10.17 (+3.97%) — Led mega-cap gainers, lifting Consumer Discretionary.
- Alphabet (GOOG) 342.88, +5.17 (+1.53%) — Paced Communication Services strength.
- Microsoft (MSFT) 513.53, +8.47 (+1.68%) — Advanced despite broader tech weakness.
- Apple (AAPL) 319.70, +5.12 (+1.63%) — Provided index-level support.
- NVIDIA (NVDA) 217.48, -10.50 (-4.61%) — Gave back a large portion of Thursday’s post-earnings surge.
- Marvell (MRVL) 216.62, -24.83 (-10.28%) — Sold off on Q2 results despite raised FY27/FY28 revenue guidance; see Spotlight below.
- Workday (WDAY) 204.72, +11.15 (+5.76%) — Best S&P 500 performer on Q2 beat, improving profitability, AI traction, and new buyback authorization.
- PayPal (PYPL) 53.66, -7.81 (-12.71%) — Worst S&P 500 performer after Bloomberg reported the Advent/Stripe consortium abandoned its $50 bln-plus LBO bid, though talks could resume later.
- Ulta Beauty (ULTA) — Traded lower despite a beat-and-raise Q2 (EPS $6.55, revenue +8.9% yr/yr to $3.04 bln); comps +3.8%; muted reaction tied to prudent H2 guidance (FY27 EPS $28.70-29.00, revenue $13.22-13.28 bln).
Stock Spotlight
Marvell Technology (MRVL 216.62, -24.83, -10.28%) was the session’s most notable AI-infrastructure mover, sliding double digits even as the underlying story continued to strengthen. Q2 (July) revenue grew 36.5% yr/yr to a record $2.74 billion, with Data Center revenue up 46% yr/yr to $2.17 billion, and Q3 guidance calling for Data Center growth of 75% yr/yr and more than 20% sequentially. Non-GAAP gross margin came in at 58.9%, slightly above the midpoint of prior guidance, though Q3 margin guidance of 57.5-58.5% reflects near-term mix pressure from the ramping Custom silicon business.
The more telling development was Marvell’s raised long-term outlook: FY27 revenue guidance moved up to $12 billion (+45%) from $11.5 billion, and FY28 guidance rose to $18 billion (+50%) from $16.5 billion (+45%), reinforcing an increasingly bullish AI infrastructure narrative built on interconnect, optical DSPs, switching, and custom silicon demand. The stock’s decline appears driven by elevated expectations following its 40%+ rally since late July and NVIDIA’s strong quarter earlier in the week, rather than any deterioration in fundamentals — a distinction Briefing.com’s analysis explicitly framed as a “sell-the-news” reaction rather than a red flag.
Bond Market & Treasuries
Treasuries sold off sharply Friday, with yields on 3-year and 5-year notes hitting fresh 2026 highs, while the long bond outperformed but still finished the day lower.
- 2-Year: 4.35%, +12 bps on the day (+12 bps for the week)
- 3-Year: 4.40%, +10 bps on the day (+9 bps for the week)
- 5-Year: 4.48%, +9 bps on the day (+6 bps for the week) — highest level since early 2025
- 10-Year: 4.72%, +5 bps on the day (-2 bps for the week)
- 30-Year: 5.21%, +2 bps on the day (-7 bps for the week)
The 2s10s spread tightened by 14 bps this week to 37 bps. The primary driver was Fed Chair Warsh’s Jackson Hole speech, which pushed implied September rate-hike odds sharply higher — to 57.5% from 35.4% the prior day per equity-desk commentary, and to as high as 60% from 40% per the bond-desk recap. Warsh described his approach as seeking a “quieter Fed,” emphasized discipline over forward messaging, cited strong business spending and profit growth, but flagged rising commodity prices as a watch item for inflation risk.
Commodities
- WTI Crude Oil: $83.38/bbl, -0.2% on the day; down $3.69/bbl (-4.2% to -4.3%) for the week amid volatility tied to Iran and Strait of Hormuz developments
- Gold: $4,528.40/ozt, -2.9%
- Copper: $6.66/lb, -0.5%
- Silver: Not reported in available data
Overseas Markets
Specific Asian and European equity index levels were not included in today’s data set; however, key macro releases from overseas markets influenced FX and rates:
- Japan: August Tokyo CPI +1.9% yr/yr (prior 1.8%); Tokyo Core CPI +1.8% yr/yr (as expected); July jobs/applications ratio held at 1.18; July Unemployment Rate fell to 2.4% from 2.5%. PM Takaichi confirmed a cabinet reshuffle planned for the second half of September.
- Eurozone: August Business and Consumer Survey rose to 98.4 from 97.1 (expected 97.5).
- Germany: July Import Price Index +0.2% m/m (expected 0.3%), +6.8% yr/yr; August Unemployment rose 4,000 as expected; Unemployment Rate steady at 6.4%.
- France: Q2 GDP flat qtr/qtr (expected +0.2%), +0.5% yr/yr; August CPI +0.7% m/m, +2.4% yr/yr; July Consumer Spending +0.5% m/m (expected +0.1%).
- Italy: June Industrial Sales -1.0% m/m, +3.1% yr/yr; August Business Confidence rose to 89.9; Consumer Confidence rose to 94.5.
- Spain: August CPI +0.7% m/m, +4.3% yr/yr; Core CPI +2.9% yr/yr; July Retail Sales -0.3% yr/yr.
- Switzerland: August KOF Leading Indicators rose to 106.7 from 104.2 (expected 103.0).
- India: July Industrial Production +6.7% yr/yr (expected 6.0%); Manufacturing Output +7.3% m/m.
- Currencies: U.S. Dollar Index +0.5% to 99.69 (reclaimed its 200-day moving average of 99.16, +0.9% for the week); EUR/USD -0.6% to 1.1582; GBP/USD -0.4% to 1.3532; USD/CNH +0.2% to 6.7325; USD/JPY +0.5% to 160.10.
Economic Data
- August Chicago PMI: 47.1 vs. Briefing.com consensus of 57.0 (prior 57.6) — a sharp contractionary miss.
- August University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment (Final): 51.7 vs. consensus 51.0 (preliminary reading was 51.0; final July reading was 55.2; year-ago level was 58.2). Key takeaway: persistent inflation concerns continue to undercut consumer sentiment.
Looking Ahead
- Monday: Nothing of note on the U.S. economic calendar.
- Tuesday: Final August S&P Global U.S. Manufacturing PMI (prior 53.2) at 9:45 ET; July Job Openings (Briefing.com consensus 7.390 mln; prior 7.359 mln); July Construction Spending (Briefing.com consensus 0.2%; prior -0.1%); August ISM Manufacturing Index (consensus not fully specified in available data).
Investors will continue to monitor the fallout from Fed Chair Warsh’s hawkish Jackson Hole remarks, the trajectory of short-term Treasury yields following this week’s repricing of September rate-hike odds, and whether mega-cap growth leadership can continue to offset ongoing weakness in semiconductors and small/mid-cap equities heading into the new trading week.