August 17, 2026

The major averages got off to a rocky start today as oil prices jumped as the US/Iran temporary ceasefire peace talks expired and after President Trump threatened strikes on the Houthi's. Economic data was solid with the Empire State Manufacturing Index jumping to 20 vs. 12.6 estimated. The different indexes nudged lower in the afternoon on Trump's remarks with nine of 11 sectors closing in the red. Energy (XLE) outperformed on higher oil prices as did Technology (XLK) on strength in semiconductors on optimism from reports of Anthropic and Open AI quarterly billing expectations. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index gained +1.64% with memory chipmakers outperforming. The Communications Services (XLC) sector was the weakest market group weighed down by a -3.54% drop in Meta Platforms (META) on fears of the outcome of a trial starting soon on social media addiction and problems with partial insurance coverage on data centers that could expose it to large losses. Consumer Staples (XLP), Consumer Discretionary (XLY) Financial (XLF) and REITs (XLRE) were also sharply lower. The DJIA rolled into the close with a 272.63-point (-0.51%) loss at 53459.78. The S&P 500 lost 40.70 points (-0.;52%) and settled at 7745.06, while the NASDASQ slipped 84.25 points (-0.32%) to 26644.91.

Breadth was negative with declining issues beating advancing issues 9:4 on the NYSE and 1.6:1 on the NASDAQ. Declining volume was 68% on the NYSE and 51% of the NASDAQ. The VIX rose 0.94 (+6.60%) closing at 15.19. Crude oil prices gained 2.18 (+2.65%) and the September contract closed at $84.18 a barrel. Gold prices added 36.90 (+0.18%) and finished at $4474.90 an ounce. Bitcoin (BTC) closed the session at $64,310.

Fears of new escalation in the Middle East kept investors on the sidelines today but market participants are also waiting on earnings this week from some of the big box retailers. Last week's -0.6% drop in July Retail Sales was a big miss, and earnings from Home Depot (HD), Target (TGT), Walmart (WMT) and others will be important in hopes that July was just a one-off. Also coming this week will the FOMC Meeting minutes from July where three Federal Reserve bank presidents dissented in favor of raising rates.

Earnings releases to watch for on Tuesday include: Home Depot (HD), Baidu (BIDU), Jack Henry (JKHY), Toll Brothers (TOL) and ZTO Express (ZTO).

Tuesday's Market Moving Economic Calendar: Housing Starts and Permits, Import and Export Prices, Industrial Production and Pending Home Sales.

*Charts of the various market timing components can be found by going to the Market Edge Home page and clicking on 'Market At A Glance', which is located on the right-hand side of the page just below the 'Market Recap' section.

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