Market Summary
U.S. equities opened the week on a soft note before an afternoon surge in oil prices deepened the selloff into the close. The S&P 500 fell 40.70 points (-0.52%) to 7745.06, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 272.63 points (-0.51%) to 53459.78, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 84.25 points (-0.31%) to 26665.94, with semiconductor strength helping the Nasdaq post a comparatively smaller decline. Weakness was evident beneath the surface from the opening bell, but selling pressure widened materially in the afternoon after President Trump told reporters he does not expect Iran to agree to a deal he views as necessary ahead of today’s expiration of the 60-day U.S.-Iran ceasefire. WTI crude oil settled $2.06 higher (+2.5%) at $84.46/bbl on the news.
Sector rotation was a defining feature of the session. Energy (+0.9%) was the lone S&P 500 sector to finish in positive territory, buoyed by the oil spike, while the PHLX Semiconductor Index (+1.6%) held onto a strong gain — though it surrendered a chunk of an earlier advance that had topped 2.5%. Memory names were a bright spot, led by Sandisk’s continued surge, while Applied Materials rebounded sharply on its beat-and-raise earnings report. Despite the chip strength, broader technology weakness pulled the information technology sector into modestly negative territory (-0.2%), and communication services (-1.5%) and consumer staples (-1.5%) were among the session’s worst performers.
Away from equities, Treasuries sold off across longer tenors, sending the 30-year yield to a fresh 19-year high (5.31%) amid ongoing concerns about inflation, deficits, and AI-related capital spending. The Russell 2000 (-0.4%) and S&P MidCap 400 (-0.3%) also finished lower, underscoring the broad-based nature of the pullback despite pockets of strength in chips and AI-adjacent names. Year-to-date, the major averages remain solidly higher: Russell 2000 +23.2%, S&P MidCap 400 +18.5%, Nasdaq Composite +14.6%, S&P 500 +13.1%, and DJIA +11.2%.
Market Snapshot
| Index | Level | Change | % Change |
|—|—|—|—|
| Dow Jones | 53,459.78 | -272.63 | -0.51% |
| S&P 500 | 7,745.06 | -40.70 | -0.52% |
| Nasdaq Composite | 26,665.94 | -84.25 | -0.31% |
NYSE: Advancers 864, Decliners 1,888, Volume 1.12 bln
Nasdaq: Advancers 1,882, Decliners 3,107, Volume 7.68 bln
Breadth (WaveFinder):
- Primary Sentiment: Very Bullish | 4% Sentiment: Bearish | 40 SMA Sentiment: Bearish
- Primary Bulls/Bears: 1,271 / 714
- 4% Bulls/Bears: 117 / 188
- Stocks Above 20-day SMA: 75%
- Stocks Above 40-day SMA: 56.69%
- 9-Month Bulls/Bears: 15 / 12 (Bull Follow-Through: 40%)
Sector Performance
1. Energy +0.9% — only S&P sector to close higher, driven by the afternoon crude oil surge
2. Information Technology -0.2% — semiconductor strength offset by weakness in other large-cap tech names
3. Financials -1.0% — pressured alongside broader market weakness
4. Consumer Discretionary -1.0% — apparel (Nike) and homebuilders weighed on the group
5. Communication Services -1.5% — Meta Platforms a notable drag ahead of Tuesday trial
6. Consumer Staples -1.5% — weakness concentrated in alcoholic beverage names
7. Materials — listed among weak sectors (specific % not disclosed)
8. Real Estate — listed among weak sectors; homebuilders hit by elevated long-term yields (specific % not disclosed)
9. Utilities — listed among weak sectors (specific % not disclosed)
10. Health Care — not specifically detailed in today’s data
11. Industrials — not specifically detailed in today’s data
Key Earnings & Movers
- Sandisk (SNDK) $1,786.85, +145.74 (+8.88%) — extended surge after Commerce Secretary Lutnick said the administration doesn’t want Apple buying Chinese memory chips
- Applied Materials (AMAT) $535.31, +28.13 (+5.55%) — rebounded on a strong beat-and-raise earnings report
- SpaceX (SPCX) $146.23, +6.23 (+4.45%) — extended recovery from post-IPO lows on newly disclosed NVIDIA and AMD stakes
- NIKE (NKE) $39.09, -1.64 (-4.03%) — fell to lowest level since late 2014
- Meta Platforms (META) $568.97, -20.88 (-3.54%) — pressured ahead of Tuesday opening arguments in child social-media addiction case
- AMD $506.00, -8.39 (-1.63%)
- Apple (AAPL) $305.59, -0.34 (-0.11%)
- NVIDIA (NVDA) $225.01, -0.15 (-0.07%)
- Fabrinet (FN) -5.6% after-hours despite an EPS/revenue beat and Q1/FY27 guidance
- Anthropic reported Q2 revenue surging to over $11.5 (bln), fueling continued AI-trade enthusiasm
Stock Spotlight
HIVE Digital Technologies (HIVE) was one of the day’s standout movers after its BUZZ HPC subsidiary signed a five-year, $350 million AI cloud services agreement, adding roughly $70 million in contracted annualized revenue and potentially lifting BUZZ HPC’s active and contracted ARR to approximately $180 million once planned deployments are completed. The news overshadowed a Q1 revenue miss ($79.1 million vs. $81.7 million consensus) and a wider-than-expected loss, as investors focused on projected HPC/AI daily revenue of roughly $500,000 following an expected Q4 2026 deployment. Revenue still rose 73.5% yr/yr, with gross operating margin of $24.2 million (30.6%) and adjusted EBITDA of $13.4 million.
Currently, BUZZ generates about $35 million of active ARR, with another $145 million contracted and expected online through Q4 — meaning the headline $180 million figure represents future, not current, revenue. HIVE plans to install 2,016 NVIDIA Blackwell Ultra GPUs in GB300 NVL72 systems at its Merritt, British Columbia facility, powered by renewable hydroelectric energy, at an expected capex of approximately $185 million (partially offset by a $35 million customer deposit). Digital-currency mining still generated more than 90% of quarterly revenue ($72.1 million, +76.6% yr/yr), underscoring that the AI diversification story remains largely prospective and dependent on execution of the GPU deployment timeline.
Bond Market & Treasuries
U.S. Treasuries sold off across longer tenors to start the week, with the 30-year yield hitting a fresh 19-year high. Yield changes:
- 2-year: 4.18% (+1 bp)
- 3-year: 4.26% (+1 bp)
- 5-year: 4.38% (+1 bp)
- 10-year: 4.72% (+3 bps), settling near session lows (4.724% at last check)
- 30-year: 5.31% (+4 bps) — fresh 2026/19-year high
Key drivers included the intraday rise in oil prices, persistent inflation and deficit concerns, and uncertainty tied to massive AI-related capital spending. The market is now watching whether the 30-year yield pushes past its 2007 high of 5.408%. The U.S. Dollar Index touched its lowest level since early June before settling roughly flat at 99.67.
Commodities
- Crude Oil (WTI): $84.46/bbl, +$2.06 (+2.5%) — surged on U.S.-Iran ceasefire expiration concerns
- Natural Gas: $2.69, -$0.04
- Gold: $4,474.00/ozt, +$37.10 (+0.8%)
- Silver: $66.23, +$1.12
- Copper: $6.62/lb, +$0.01 (+0.2%)
Overseas Markets
Europe: DAX -0.4%, FTSE -0.3%, CAC -0.7%
Asia: Nikkei +0.7%, Hang Seng +1.3%, Shanghai +1.4%
Asian markets shrugged off weaker-than-expected Chinese data over the weekend, with Shanghai gaining 1.4%. Japan’s flash Q2 GDP came in below consensus at 0.3% qtr/qtr (expected 0.5%), while Japan’s 40-year JGB yield hit a fresh 2026 high (4.059%) on expectations of further Bank of Japan rate hikes. China’s July data showed Industrial Production at 4.5% yr/yr (expected 5.0%), Fixed Asset Investment at -6.7% yr/yr (expected -6.2%), Retail Sales at 0.6% yr/yr (expected 1.5%), and the Unemployment Rate rising to 5.2% (expected 5.1%).
Economic Data
- August Empire State Manufacturing Index: 20.6 (Briefing.com consensus 11.0; prior 15.6) — suggests accelerated manufacturing expansion
- August NAHB Housing Market Index: 35 (Briefing.com consensus 34; prior 34)
Both readings came in above expectations, reinforcing a constructive near-term growth backdrop; the Atlanta Fed GDPNow model is projecting 4.3% real GDP growth for Q3, and Q2 corporate earnings are up 51.0% yr/yr.
Looking Ahead
Tuesday, August 18 (Data):
- 8:30 ET: July Housing Starts (consensus 1.360 mln; prior 1.427 mln), Building Permits (consensus 1.390 mln; prior 1.367 mln), Import Prices (prior 0.3%), Import Prices ex-oil (prior 0.4%), Export Prices (prior -0.6%), Export Prices ex-agriculture (prior -0.7%)
- 9:15 ET: July Industrial Production (consensus 0.3%; prior 0.1%) and Capacity Utilization (consensus 76.3%; prior 76.1%)
- 10:00 ET: July Pending Home Sales (consensus 1.3%; prior -5.4%)
Other Key Events:
- Amylyx Pharmaceuticals (AMLX) to announce topline Phase 3 LUCIDITY trial results on August 18
- Opening arguments begin Tuesday in the child social-media addiction case involving Meta Platforms
- Continued focus on geopolitical developments following the expiration of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire, with oil price volatility likely to remain a key market driver amid a light broader catalyst calendar this week