Markets
Market Pulse
Post-Close Edition · Friday, August 21, 2026
Dow leads with 0.89% gain as money flees utilities for banks and healthcare Bitcoin jumps 6.3% to $77,365 and gold adds 1.95%, an odd pairing with rising long yields.
The Daily Digest
- 01Dow Jones up 0.89%, the strongest major index as cyclicals lead
- 02Utilities sink 2.28%, the worst sector as long-end yields climb
- 03Bitcoin +6.3% to $77,365 in a broad crypto melt-up
- 04Cardano +10.4% and XRP +9.9% to $1.37 lead the altcoin bid
- 05Gold up 1.95% as the safe-haven bid holds through a risk-on session
- 06Healthcare up 1.29% as defensive money rotates out of utilities
- 07Financials up 0.93% with a steeper curve helping bank margins
- 08Russell 2000 up 0.77%, small caps join the move
- 09S&P 500 up 0.41% while Nasdaq 100 lags at 0.35%, tech sector barely green at 0.11%
- 10TLT down 0.35% as 20-year Treasury yields press higher
- 11Silver up 1.72%, tracking gold's metals bid
- 12Dollar index slips 0.15% to 98.67 as EUR/USD firms to 1.1699
Top Movers
What If?
If you had put $1,000 into Cardano yesterday, you'd have $1,104.10 today.
The Big Picture
Money moved today, it just didn't move where you would expect. The Dow rose 0.89% and financials gained 0.93% while utilities dropped 2.28%, the worst sector by a wide margin. The driver is the long end of the bond market: TLT fell 0.35%, meaning 20-year yields pushed higher. Higher yields hurt utilities, which investors buy for their dividends, and help banks, which earn more on lending. Tech sat out. The Nasdaq 100 added just 0.35% and the tech sector managed 0.11%, so this rally came from banks, small caps up 0.77%, and healthcare up 1.29%. The odd part is metals and crypto rallying together. Gold up 1.95% and Bitcoin up 6.3% to $77,365 is not a clean risk-on signal, it looks more like cash leaving safe yield and hunting anywhere else. Fear and Greed sits at 55, greedy but not euphoric.Fear & Greed Index
55Greed
0255075100
Market Overview
| Indices | ||
| S&P 500 | 765.72 | +0.41% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 713.44 | +0.35% |
| Dow Jones | 532.22 | +0.89% |
| Russell 2000 | 299.96 | +0.77% |
| Crypto | ||
| Bitcoin | 77,365.00 | +6.34% |
| Ethereum | 2,431.70 | +4.85% |
| Solana | 91.63 | +4.68% |
| XRP | 1.37 | +9.91% |
| Cardano | 0.22 | +10.41% |
| Commodities | ||
| Silver | 62.72 | +1.72% |
| Natural Gas | 9.99 | -0.20% |
| Gold | 423.36 | +1.95% |
| Crude Oil | 134.64 | +0.07% |
| Bonds & Rates | ||
| 1-3Y Treasury | 82.00% | -0.02% |
| Short 20Y | 38.50% | +0.97% |
| 20Y Treasury | 82.05% | -0.35% |
| Forex | ||
| EUR/USD | 1.17 | +0.15% |
| USD/JPY | 158.70 | -0.04% |
| GBP/USD | 1.37 | +0.22% |
| Dollar Index | 98.67 | -0.15% |
| Sectors | ||
| Technology | 183.31 | +0.11% |
| Energy | 63.64 | -0.17% |
| Utilities | 42.77 | -2.28% |
| Financials | 57.48 | +0.93% |
| Healthcare | 174.62 | +1.29% |
| Volatility | ||
| VIX | 18.21 | -1.25% |