Wednesday, August 5, 2026

Wall Street delivered a mixed session on Wednesday as soft employment data and shifting geopolitical currents pulled benchmarks in opposite directions. The Dow Jones Industrial Average secured a record close, climbing +0.49% to 54,349.12, while tech weakness dragged the S&P 500 down -0.17% to 7,723.55 and the Nasdaq lower by -0.83% to 26,363.44. Small caps also retreated, with the Russell 2000 shedding -0.59% to 3,019.188, though market anxiety eased as the VIX dropped -4.18% to 15.81 following a sluggish July ADP private payrolls report that added only 44,000 jobs against the 75,000 expected.

Sectors in focus:

• Gold and Silver Ores (+8.12%): Precious metals miners soared as physical Gold jumped +3.66% to 4,304.6. A potential U.S.-Iran deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz drove the rally, pushing WTI Crude down -0.94% to 75.06, dampening inflation fears, and slashing September Fed rate-hike odds to 59% from 67%.
• Technology & Semiconductors (-3.63%): Electronic Components (-8.92%) and Computer Programming (-4.43%) lagged sharply. The tech sector took a hit as SpaceX tumbled 9% in its first public earnings report over an $18.4 billion AI capex spike. Concurrently, AMD fell -6.5% as investors rotated into Nvidia (+3.4%) following news of an exclusive Nvidia chip deal for SpaceX AI.
• Dow Blue Chips: Amgen (+4.6%) soared on raised guidance and a Q2 beat, while Disney (+3.6%) rallied on a 'Toy Story 5' box office smash, lifting the Dow to its record high.

On the radar:

• Aug 6: Q2 Labor Productivity and Unit Labor Costs, alongside Weekly Initial Jobless Claims
• Aug 7: July Nonfarm Payrolls and Unemployment Rate (expected 4.3%)
• Aug 12: July Consumer Price Index (CPI)
• Aug 13: July Producer Price Index (PPI)