Market Close — Friday, August 21, 2026
US INDICES
- S&P 500: 7,674.37 (+0.43%)
- Dow: 53,277.01 (+0.98%)
- Nasdaq: 26,180.46 (+0.43%)
- Russell 2000: 3,017.87 (+0.85%)
- VIX: 15.13 (-5.50%)
SECTORS
- Basic Materials: +2.93%
- Healthcare: +1.36%
- Consumer Cyclical: +1.25%
- Financial Services: +1.03%
- Technology: +0.15%
COMMODITIES
- Gold: $4,661.60 (+1.97%)
- WTI Crude: $86.64 (-0.22%)
- Brent: $93.87 (+0.10%)
- Copper: $6.58 (+1.72%)
- Platinum: $1,891.40 (+2.84%)
CRYPTO (WEEKEND SURGE)
- Bitcoin: $78,301 (+7.25%)
- Ethereum: $2,514 (+8.10%)
- XRP: $1.45 (+14.75%)
- Solana: $93.75 (+6.98%)
Earnings Recap — Friday, August 21
| Ticker | Company | EPS Est | Actual | Beat | Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UI | Ubiquiti Inc. | $4.03 | $4.73 | +17.28% ✅ | $33.8B |
| BEKE | KE Holdings | $2.12 | $2.85 | +34.52% ✅ | $19.6B |
| BJ | BJ’s Wholesale | $1.17 | $1.36 | +16.52% ✅ | $12.3B |
| BKE | Buckle Inc. | $0.81 | $0.87 | +7.38% ✅ | $2.3B |
Key Takeaway: Clean sweep of beats. Consumer discretionary (BJ, BKE) showing resilience despite macro headwinds. BEKE (China real estate) 74% profit surge signals stabilization.
Geopolitical Intel — ThinkCreate OSINT
PRIORITY INTELLIGENCE (Low Threat)
- LVL 4/10 — Tropical Cyclone EIGHTEEN-26 (21N, 108.8E) — No population impact
- LVL 4/10 — Tropical Cyclone TWO-C-26 (13.9N, 147.2W) — No population impact
- LVL 3/10 — Iran economic warfare rhetoric (no escalation)
- LVL 3/10 — Russia gas imports due to Ukrainian strikes (shortages persist)
- LVL 3/10 — Russian double-tap drone strike kills 15 in Ukrainian mall
DEFENSE STOCKS (Mixed Close)
- RTX: $209.91 (-1.12%)
- LMT: $563.57 (-1.38%)
- NOC: $551.03 (-2.28%)
- GD: $384.29 (-0.46%)
- BA: $214.20 (-0.42%)
- PLTR: $179.94 (+3.44%) ⬆️
LIVE DATA SNAPSHOT
- Commercial flights: 5,942 | Military: 237 | Private: 3,306
- Tracked/flagged aircraft: 1,412
- Vessels (ships): 11
- Satellites: 540
- GPS jamming events: 9
- Earthquakes (24h): 50
- GDELT incidents: 1,060
Upcoming Earnings — Next Week
Sunday, August 24 (BMO)
- PDD Holdings — China e-commerce bellwether
- XPEV — XPeng EV sales
Tuesday, August 26 (AMC)
- NVDA — NVIDIA (most anticipated)
- CRM — Salesforce
- HPQ — HP Inc.
Economic Calendar — Week Ahead
Wednesday, August 26 @ 8:30 AM ET
- PCE Price Index YoY (Prev: 3.7%)
- Core PCE Price Index YoY (Prev: 3.3%)
- Fed’s preferred inflation gauge — critical for rate expectations
Bottom Line
Friday’s close trimmed weekly losses with broad sector strength. Earnings beats across consumer discretionary signal resilience. Crypto weekend surge (+7-15%) suggests risk-on sentiment resuming. Geopolitical backdrop quiet (max LVL 4). NVDA earnings Tuesday will set tone for tech into September. VIX sub-16 = complacency returning.