US Stock Market Summary – August 7, 2026

All three major indexes rose. The S&P 500 climbed 0.62% to a record close of 7,757.64. The Nasdaq gained 1.30% to 26,690.62, and the Dow rose 0.28% to 54,036.93, erasing the prior day's decline in a single session. The trigger was one and only one: the July jobs report. Nonfarm payrolls fell by 23,000, versus market expectations of an 80,000 increase (CNBC). Combined revisions for May and June took an additional 103,000 jobs off the books. As a result, the implied probability of a September rate hike dropped from 55% to 44% (CNBC). It was a day in which bad employment data was read as good news for stocks (WSJ). On a weekly basis, it was also the strongest week since April (MarketWatch). The VIX (volatility index) fell 1.85% to 14.87. The Fear & Greed Index (investor-sentiment thermometer) read 64, in "Greed" territory. ## Sector & Asset Movements

The direction of money flows was straightforward. As fears of higher rates receded, rate-sensitive assets rallied in unison. Nine of the eleven S&P 500 sectors finished higher. The only laggards were areas that benefit from higher rates or from elevated oil prices. A weaker dollar also helped. That combination lifted the materials sector (+1.32%) near the top of the leaderboard, alongside gold and silver. - Consumer Discretionary (+1.49%) — As rate-hike worries faded, rate-sensitive consumer names led the gains. Treasury yields fell, and money rotated first into housing- and consumer-related stocks (CNBC). - Technology (+1.42%) — The chip ETF SOXX rose 2.02%. When the rate burden eases, technology stocks — which are bought on the basis of far-future earnings — gain an edge. On the day, chip and software names rallied together (Reuters). - Energy (-1.13%) — The only sector to lose more than 1%. The oil ETF $USO fell 0.75%. President Trump's comments on progress in talks with Iran eased supply concerns (Bloomberg). This is the exact inverse of the previous day, when fears of a Hormuz Strait blockade sent oil prices spiking and weighed on equities. - Financials (-0.36%) — When rate-hike expectations fade, bank net interest margins (the gap between lending rates and deposit rates) compress. The 2-year Treasury yield stood at 4.204%, its lowest since July 17 (CNBC). - Long-Duration US Treasuries — TLT (+0.28%) — When bond prices rise, yields fall. The 10-year yield was pushed down to 4.654%. The intermediate-duration $IEF also gained 0.24%, showing the same direction across the curve. - Gold GLD (+2.26%) · Silver SLV (+2.95%) — Gold hit a seven-week high. When rate-hike expectations fade, gold's lack of a yield becomes less of a drawback (Reuters). Silver rode the same tailwind (Yahoo Finance). - Small-Caps — IWM (+1.11%) — Smaller companies carry heavier debt loads than large caps, making them more sensitive to rate news. They outperformed the major indexes on the day (Yahoo Finance). ## Key Stock Movements

> Key events for the next trading day are displayed automatically. ## Expert Commentary

> "This is a pretty horrendous report."

> — Adam Crisafulli, Founder and CEO of Vital Knowledge

> "Today's weak employment data could take some pressure off the Fed to hike rates at its September meeting. But next week's inflation print remains the decisive variable. "If inflation comes in hotter than expected, a cooling labor market alone may not be enough to quiet the hike calls within the Fed." — Ellen Zentner, Chief U.S. Economist at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management

> "The upcoming inflation data will be the final determinant, but a slowing pace of hiring supports a September pause."

> — Lindsay Rosner, Head of Multi-Sector Fixed Income at Goldman Sachs Asset Management

> "By the labor-market yardstick, this isn't boom-time and may even be a number falling apart. But from the market's perspective, the two biggest worries were rates and inflation. Today's soft number actually weakens the case for the Fed to hike."

> — Saira Malik, Chief Investment Officer at Nuveen

Technical signals were split exactly down the middle: 120 bullish and 120 bearish. What matters, however, is which names fall on each side. Nvidia, Broadcom, and Palantir broke above their upper Bollinger Bands (envelopes drawn around a stock's typical trading range) while also flagging overbought readings on the stochastic oscillator (a signal that a stock has risen too far, too fast). On the other hand, Nvidia, TSMC, Tesla, and Intel printed MACD golden crosses (signals in which a short-term trend line crosses above a long-term trend line) — meaning the direction is up but the pace has been steep. For a full name-by-name breakdown, see the Technical Signals Report. There was one and only one reason stocks rose today: "less fear that rates will go up." The consumer price index is due out next Wednesday, and the one thing worth keeping in mind is that a hotter-than-expected inflation print could undercut that rationale.

US Stock Market Summary – August 7, 2026

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