Tuesday, August 25, 2026

Wall Street finished mostly higher on Tuesday as a sharp drop in oil prices cooled inflation fears and triggered a rebound in beaten-down tech shares. The Nasdaq led the major averages, climbing 0.66% to 26,151.299, followed by the S&P 500 rising 0.32% to 7,677.28 and the Dow Jones adding 0.30% to 53,577.4. Small caps bucked the positive trend, with the Russell 2000 slipping 0.26% to 3,010.022, while the VIX crept up 2.12% to 15.45 after US Consumer Confidence fell to a seven-month low of 89.4 in August.

Sectors in focus:

• Energy & Tech: WTI Crude plunged 4.92% to 80.83 as Middle East diplomatic talks and softer-than-feared US sanctions on Iran-linked entities eased geopolitical premiums. This sent 10-year Treasury yields down to 4.64%, boosting tech-adjacent sectors like WHOLESALE-COMPUTERS & PERIPHERAL EQUIPMENT & SOFTWARE (+2.99%). Nvidia (NVDA) also snapped a seven-session losing streak, rising 2.2% ahead of its upcoming earnings, while Intuit (INTU) celebrated 14% revenue growth driven by its AI strategy.
• Retail & Apparel: APPAREL & OTHER FINISHD PRODS OF FABRICS & SIMILAR MATL lagged the broader market, dropping 2.96%, alongside MEN'S & BOYS' FURNISHGS (-2.77%). The weakness was underscored by Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS) plummeting 27% after slashing its annual forecast due to a highly promotional footwear market.
• Gold & Mining: Gold advanced 0.44% to 4,718.6, helping METAL MINING emerge as the day's top-performing industry with a 4.14% gain.

On the radar:

• Aug 26: Nvidia (NVDA) and CrowdStrike (CRWD) Q2 earnings; July Advance Durable Goods and EIA Crude Oil Inventories
• Aug 27: US Q2 GDP (Second Estimate) and Initial Jobless Claims
• Aug 27-29: Jackson Hole Economic Symposium (featuring a Friday speech by Fed Chair Kevin Warsh)
• Aug 28: July Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index
• Sep 01: ISM Manufacturing PMI