Markets News, Aug. 24, 2026: Nasdaq, S&P 500 Close Lower to Begin Week as Chip Stocks Sink; Bitcoin Nears $80,000

Markets News, Aug. 24, 2026: Nasdaq, S&P 500 Close Lower to Begin Week as Chip Stocks Sink; Bitcoin Nears $80,000

Aaron Rennie

Mon, August 24, 2026 at 1:50 PM GMT+3 5 min read

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite started the week lower as semiconductor stocks dropped. Meanwhile, crude prices fell as investors took in stride new U.S. sanctions on Iran.

The tech-focused Nasdaq and benchmark S&P 500 were down a respective 0.6% and 0.2% on Monday. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.3% higher.

All three major U.S. stock indexes finished higher Friday, with the Dow adding more than 500 points, though they were lower for the week. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq had their first losing weeks in four, while the Dow posted its second consecutive losing week.

The Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM) ended the day down nearly 6%, with components Sandisk (SNDK), Western Digital (WDC), SK Hynix (SKHY), Micron Technology (MU), and Seagate Technology (STX) finishing sharply lower. Samsung Electronics, its largest holding, dropped nearly 9% in South Korean trading. The broader iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) closed more than 2.5% lower as components Marvell Technology (MRVL), Intel (INTC), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and Applied Materials (AMAT) pulled back.

Crude oil prices remained lower as investors mulled the Treasury Department's new sanctions on Iran and those that trade with the Middle East nation. West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. benchmark, traded down 2.2% at $85.15 a barrel at 4 p.m. ET, while Brent crude, the global benchmark, was 2.3% lower at around $92.20.

Treasury yields declined modestly but remain elevated despite the government's recent efforts to calm markets. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which influences interest rates on a variety of consumer loans including mortgages, was around 4.71% late Monday afternoon, down roughly three basis points from Friday's close. The 30-year yield, which hit a nearly two-decade high of 5.34% last week, was recently at 5.23%, down four basis points.

Gold futures advanced 0.2% to about $4,700 an ounce, around their highest price since mid-May. The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the value of the greenback against a basket of foreign currencies, was 0.2% higher at 99.04.

Bitcoin recently was trading around $78,900, up over the past 24 hours, after earlier nearing $80,000, its highest level in three months. Shares of Robinhood Markets (HOOD) were 3.5% lower after soaring nearly 14% Friday to lead S&P 500 gainers, but other crypto-linked firms rose, with Strategy (MSTR) up 2.5% to rank among top Nasdaq 100 gainers.

The Magnificent Seven mega-cap tech stocks finished mostly higher but shares of Tesla (TSLA) ended almost 4% lower after surging more than 5% to lead the septet's gains Friday. Those of Nvidia (NVDA), which is set to report highly anticipated quarterly results Wednesday afternoon, closed nearly 3% lower following a Bloomberg report that the company had informed some of its largest customers that servers containing its AI chips will see price hikes of "more than 15% in many cases" on systems shipped in early 2027.

Monday was a quiet day for corporate earnings reports, with Chinese firms PDD Holdings (PDD), the parent of Temu, and EV maker XPeng (XPEV) the biggest names issuing results. U.S.-listed shares of PDD and XPeng declined 1.5% and 8.5%, respectively.

AUGUST 24, 2026 AT 07:14 PM GMT

20 of 30 Dow Components in Green in Final Hour of Trading

With less than an hour to go in the trading day, two-thirds of the stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average are in positive territory.

Twenty of the 30 Dow components are in the green, with Visa (V) leading gainers with a 2.7% advance.

The blue-chip index is up 0.3% overall.

The biggest decliner is Nvidia (NVDA). Shares of the world's most valuable company are down 2.5%.

AUGUST 24, 2026 AT 06:36 PM GMT

'Big Three' Automaker Stocks Fall as Trump Says US to Impose New Tariffs on Canadian-Made Vehicles, Parts

Shares of the "Big Three" U.S. automakers are taking a hit today because of a threat from President Donald Trump aimed north of the border.

After trade negotiations with Canada fell apart over the weekend, Trump wrote on Truth Social Monday morning that "on January First, 2027, Tariffs on all Cars, Trucks, both large and small, Automotive Parts, and Steel, will be increased to 50%." That would represent a doubling of current tariffs on Canadian-made automobiles.

The Big Three—General Motors (GM), Ford Motor (F), and Chrysler parent Stellantis (STLA)—have substantial manufacturing operations in Canada, mostly in Ontario, and build complete vehicles and major components.

Shares of Stellantis, Ford, and GM are down a respective 3.5%, 3%, and 1% with less than 90 minutes to go in the trading day.

AUGUST 24, 2026 AT 05:36 PM GMT

XPeng Stock Tumbles on Weak Results, Soft Outlook

Executives are XPeng are excited about the Chinese firm's forthcoming humanoid robots. Investors are more focused today on the company's electric vehicles.

U.S.-listed shares of XPeng (XPEV) are sinking 8% Monday after the company's second-quarter results and current-quarter outlook for revenue and vehicle deliveries came in below analysts' estimates.

In the second quarter, XPeng reported an adjusted loss per ADS of 1.29 Chinese yuan ($0.18) on revenue of 19.74 billion yuan ($2.73 billion). Analysts polled by Visible Alpha had anticipated a loss per ADS of 0.45 yuan on revenue of 20.69 billion yuan.

For the third quarter, XPeng sees revenue of 21.7 billion yuan and 23.4 billion yuan, while analysts had expected 27.85 billion yuan. It also projects between 115,000 and 121,000 vehicle deliveries, while analysts were looking for nearly 140,000.

Separately Monday, XPeng issued a press release saying it had raised more than $900 million at a post-money valuation of over $6.3 billion, "which marks the largest single-round private capital raise in China's embodied AI industry to date."

On the earnings call, executives touted this news. "I expect the commercialization of humanoid robots to scale rapidly in China and overseas following mass production, generating meaningful gross profit growth, supporting our investment in physical AI R&D and further widening our technological lead," CEO He Xiaopeng said.

U.S.-listed shares of XPeng are down 45% since the start of the year.

AUGUST 24, 2026 AT 03:54 PM GMT

Energy Leads S&P 500 Sector Declines

The S&P 500 Energy Sector is the worst performer among the 11 industries tracked by the benchmark index around midday as the price of crude pulls back.

With WTI crude prices down 2.5%, the Energy sector is 1.5% lower to lead six in the red. Information Technology is the next-worst performer, down 1.1%.

Every stock in the Energy sector is lower, with Diamondback Energy (FANG), APA (APA), and Halliburton (HAL) all down roughly 3% to lead declines.

AUGUST 24, 2026 AT 03:01 PM GMT

Bitcoin ETF Inflows Are Back. They Could Signal a 'Sustained Rally'

Bitcoin is finally starting to get some attention from investors again.

The price of the world's largest cryptocurrency is hanging out at around $79,000, a level it has sustained since Friday following a spate of small regulatory wins last week. Both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are working on ways for industry startups to operate in the U.S. legally.

Sentiment appeared to shift last week as bitcoin ETFs saw five straight days of inflows totaling nearly $2 billion, according to Farside Investors. Year to date, they're still in the red, with about $2.8 billion in net outflows.

Citi's Alex Saunders said in a report Thursday that "ETF flows remain the key catalyst to watch" and the "most-important driver of price action."

Investors have pulled money from the dozen-odd spot bitcoin funds since bitcoin prices reached a peak of over $126,000 in October and then were cut in half in the ensuing months.

"Flows have stalled since the October 2025 liquidations, and their resumption is critical for a sustained rally," Saunders wrote.

Crypto-linked stocks, which finished last week strong, are mixed to start the week. Coinbase Global (COIN) and Strategy (MSTR) are gaining 1% and 4.5%, respectively. Robinhood (HOOD) is down less than 1%.

-Crystal Kim

AUGUST 24, 2026 AT 02:53 PM GMT

Here's How Much Traders Expect Marvell Stock to Move After Earnings

Marvell Technology is scheduled to post earnings after the closing bell on Thursday, with traders expecting a big move from the chip designer's stock.

Marvell (MRVL) shares are seen swinging up to 10% in either direction by the end of the week, based on recent options pricing. A move of that size from Friday's close could see the stock rally close to $261, or slip below $214, giving up some of its gains this year.

While Marvell's stock has pulled back from its June highs, it remains one of the top performers in the S&P 500 for this year, with shares up nearly 180% in 2026. Strong demand for AI chips and high-profile deals have helped boost the stock, including a custom chip deal with Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) announced earlier this month.

UBS analysts told clients that they expect another strong quarter from Marvell, with the potential for a raised full-year sales forecast. They called Marvell "one of the more attractive ways to participate in the custom silicon, optical connectivity, and AI infrastructure buildout themes," though they trimmed their price target to $300 from $340, given a recent pullback in compute-related stocks.

Read the full article here.

-Aaron McDade

AUGUST 24, 2026 AT 01:52 PM GMT

Q2 Earnings Season Is Almost Done. A Big Report Is Coming Up

Investor attention will undoubtedly focus this week on the latest quarterly results from Nvidia. In the meantime, second-quarter numbers have already come in strong.

Nearly all of the companies in the S&P 500–467 of them, or 94%, according to a Monday note from Oppenheimer–have already reported, with profits rising nearly 50% year-over-year on 14% revenue growth.

The earnings growth has been broad-based, with only one of the index's 11 sectors, healthcare, down year-over-year, according to Oppenheimer. (Healthcare is one of five sectors where not all the results are in the books yet.)

Eighteen more companies are expected to report this week, Oppenheimer said. The big one is Nvidia (NVDA), which is set to report Wednesday after the bell. The chip giant, the world's most valuable publicly traded company, is expected to report more than $92 billion in quarterly revenue.

Investors tend to have high expectations for Nvidia's earnings, with the company beating earnings-per-share and revenue expectations in 18 and 19 of the past 20 quarters, respectively, according to Freedom Capital Markets Chief Market Strategist Jay Woods.

"Investors will want another beat-and-raise quarter, but more importantly, confirmation that the massive AI infrastructure spending cycle remains alive and well," Woods wrote in comments Monday.

– David Marino-Nachison

AUGUST 24, 2026 AT 01:36 PM GMT

The AI Trade is Under Pressure to Start the Week. Nvidia's Results Will Test the Sector

The AI trade has hit a few stumbling blocks lately, with the sector facing a key test from Nvidia's earnings later this week.

The AI chipmaker, widely seen as a bellwether for the AI trade, is set to give investors an update on its financials after the closing bell Wednesday. With expectations running high ahead of the event, anything less than robust results could add to the pressure that's held the sector back in recent weeks, Wall Street analysts have warned.

Shares of Nvidia (NVDA), which ticked lower in early trading Monday, are up close to 20% for the year but almost 10% off their May highs as worries about an AI bubble and the sustainability of spending on America's AI buildout have weighed on support for the stock, along with others closely tied to the AI boom.

Shares of hard drive maker Sandisk (SNDK), the S&P 500's biggest gainer for the year so far, were down 9% at the bell, leading early declines in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq. Nvidia-backed Lumentum (LITE) and Nebius (NBIS) also lost ground, along with Micron Technology (MU), Seagate Technology (STX) and Western Digital (WDC).

"A simple beat may not be enough. Investors will want another beat-and-raise quarter, but more importantly, confirmation that the massive AI infrastructure spending cycle remains alive and well," Freedom Capital Markets Chief Market Strategist Jay Woods wrote in a note Monday.

-Kara Greenberg

AUGUST 24, 2026 AT 01:02 PM GMT

Temu Parent PDD Stock Gains Despite Revenue Miss as Profit Tops Expectations

Temu's parent company reported second-quarter revenue early Monday that came up short of analysts' estimates. Its stock is rising regardless.

U.S.-listed shares of PDD Holdings (PDD) are advancing 3.5% in premarket trading after the Chinese e-commerce company posted better-than-expected profit.

PDD, which also owns discount shopping platform Pinduoduo as well as fast-fashion marketplace Temu, registered Q2 adjusted earnings per ADS of 19.33 Chinese yuan ($2.88). Analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha had expected 18.44 yuan ($2.74).

PDD's revenue of 112.4 billion yuan ($16.72 billion) increased 8% year-over-year but was below Visible Alpha consensus of 115.3 billion ($17.15 billion).

Temu and fast-fashion rival Shein have had to deal with the May expiration of the de minimis loophole, which had exempted imported packages worth less than $800 from U.S. taxes, duties, and tariffs.

"Since the start of the year, global trade and regulatory landscapes have continued to evolve, creating significant challenges while also presenting new opportunities," PDD Holdings CEO Lei Chen said. "We feel a strong sense of responsibility that comes with our unique position in global trade and will work diligently to build a trustworthy platform that consumers can rely on over the long run."

U.S.-listed shares of PDD entered Monday down 22% this year.

AUGUST 24, 2026 AT 12:22 PM GMT

Alibaba Shares Fall After $10.2B Share Placement to Fund AI Ambitions

U.S.-listed shares of Alibaba (BABA) fell in premarket trading, after the Chinese e-commerce and cloud giant raised 80 billion Hong Kong dollars ($10.2 billion) in a secondary share sale to fund its AI goals.

The move comes amid intensifying competition in the space, with leading American firms such as Amazon (AMZN) and Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) pledging hundreds of billions of dollars in capital expenditures this year to fund their AI buildout.

Alibaba shares were down 2% recently.

-Kara Greenberg

AUGUST 24, 2026 AT 11:48 AM GMT

Here's How Much CrowdStrike Stock Is Expected to Move After Earnings

CrowdStrike is scheduled to report earnings after markets close on Wednesday, with traders anticipating a big move from the cybersecurity giant's stock.

Based on current options pricing, CrowdStrike (CRWD) shares are seen swinging up to 8% in either direction by the end of the week. A move of that size from Friday's close could send the shares as high as $206, approaching their highs earlier this month, or drag them below $175.

CrowdStrike shares have surged more than 60% since the start of the year, as the cybersecurity industry has managed to shake off worries about AI disruption. Strong first-quarter results and a string of high-profile security incidents in recent months have boosted expectations that growing AI adoption and related risks will drive enterprise spending on cybersecurity software.

Bank of America analysts wrote recently that expectations are running high heading into the report, which could make it harder for CrowdStrike to impress with its results. The analysts said investors will likely be focused on the company's "ability to convert AI-driven security demand" into sales for its Falcon platform.

Read the full article here.

-Aaron McDade

AUGUST 24, 2026 AT 11:16 AM GMT

What to Expect in Markets This Week: Nvidia Earnings; Software Firms, Discount Stores Also Report

Anxious about Nvidia's results? You're likely not alone.

The stock sold off in the wake of its last three quarterly reports. Another re-evaluation could come Wednesday, when the world's most valuable company hands in its second-quarter results.1

The AI chipmaker has had an active summer. CEO Jensen Huang announced a new chip purpose-built to power on-device AI agents, while the company made progress on its attempts to sell chips in China, and struck deals to help finance the AI data center buildout. The stock, meanwhile, has had a volatile year, but it's mostly risen, up 15% in 2025 though off its May highs.

Last quarter, Nvidia beat expectations and brightened its outlook, with Huang saying demand "has gone parabolic" as companies race to build AI infrastructure. Revenue climbed 85% year-over-year, with data center sales nearly doubling.

Read the full article here.

-Sarina Trangle

AUGUST 24, 2026 AT 10:50 AM GMT

Stock Futures Point to Lower Open After Losing Week

Futures contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average pointed fractionally lower.

S&P 500 futures were down 0.2%.

Nasdaq 100 futures were 0.5% lower.

Read the original article on Investopedia