InsightAugust 24, 2026
Weekly market report: August 24, 2026
US equities snapped a three-week winning streak, with all three major benchmarks posting their first weekly declines since late July as a sell-off in long-dated Treasuries and renewed US–Iran tensions drove a risk-off tone. Through Thursday's close the S&P 500 had lost 1.9% on the week and the Nasdaq 2.5%, while the Dow had declined 1.8%, before a Friday rebound trimmed the damage. On Friday the S&P 500 climbed 0.43% to 7,674.37 and the Nasdaq rose 0.43% to 26,180.45, while the Dow gained 517.80 points, or 0.98%, to 53,277.01, supported by healthcare names such as Merck and Johnson & Johnson. The dominant macro story was fiscal and geopolitical: the 30-year Treasury yield pushed to its highest in decades, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced plans to expand the bond buyback program beyond $4 billion per issue in an attempt to steady the market, even as President Trump escalated an "economic warfare" campaign against Iran that kept oil elevated (Brent near $93). Data was firmer than the price action implied.