Wednesday, August 26, 2026

U.S. equities finished nearly flat on Wednesday as investors exercised caution ahead of highly anticipated after-the-bell earnings from AI bellwether Nvidia. Market sentiment was also tested by July Headline PCE inflation rising 3.7% year-over-year (versus 3.6% expected), fueling concerns over sticky inflation and potential Federal Reserve rate hikes. The S&P 500 dipped a fraction of a percent to finish down 0.02% at 7,675.7, while the Dow Jones slipped 0.21% to 53,463.88, the Nasdaq shed 0.08% to 26,130.197, and the Russell 2000 dropped 0.14% to 3,005.9 as the VIX eased 1.55% to 15.21.

Sectors in focus:

• Retail breakouts: Retail-Family Clothing Stores surged an impressive 7.47%, heavily lifted by Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF), which skyrocketed 35.7% on a profit beat and raised full-year guidance. Tech hardware sectors like Computer Storage Devices (+3.53%) and Computer Communications Equipment (+2.60%) also saw strong buying ahead of key earnings.
• Metals and energy lag: Gold and Silver Ores tumbled 2.70% as the worst-performing industry today. Gold prices fell 1.01% to 4,646.9 after the 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.66% on the hot inflation print. Meanwhile, WTI Crude dropped 0.69% to 81.79 following reports of potential de-escalation in Iran-Israel tensions. Other notable laggards included Real Estate Agents & Managers (-2.22%) and Finance Services (-1.74%).

On the radar:

• Aug 26 (After-market): Earnings from Nvidia (NVDA), Salesforce (CRM), and CrowdStrike (CRWD).
• Aug 27: Q2 GDP (Second Estimate) and Initial Jobless Claims, alongside earnings from Marvell Technology (MRVL), Dell (DELL), and Lululemon (LULU).
• Aug 27-29: The Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium kicks off with a theme of "Financial Innovation."
• Aug 28: July Personal Income and Outlays report for a deeper dive into the latest PCE data.