Stocks Rise Early as Oil Prices, Yields Fall
Published as of: August 25, 2026, 9:08 a.m. ET
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| The markets | Last price | Change | % change |
|---|---|---|---|
| S&P 500® Index | 7,652.86 | -21.51 | -0.28% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average® | 53,417.16 | +140.15 | +0.26% |
| Nasdaq Composite® | 25,980.19 | -200.26 | -0.76% |
| 10-year Treasury yield | 4.66% | -0.04 | -- |
| U.S. Dollar Index | 99.01 | +0.01 | +0.01% |
| Cboe Volatility Index® | 15.85 | -0.05 | -0.003% |
| WTI Crude Oil | $82.45 | -$2.56 | -3.01% |
| Bitcoin | $79,005 | +$155 | +0.20% |
(Tuesday market open) Stocks rose in early trading, with chipmakers reclaiming some lost ground, as Treasury yields and oil prices fell.
This morning brings August consumer confidence data as well as July new home sales and the S&P Cotality Case-Shiller home price data for June. But much of the market is focused on Wednesday, when we'll get earnings from Nvidia (NVDA) and CrowdStrike (CRWD), as well as July inflation data from the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index.
The major stock indexes finished mixed on Monday. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.76% as investors dumped chip stocks ahead of Nvidia's earnings report. Yields also dropped modestly after CNBC reported that the Treasury Department could use its $1 trillion General Account to fund its bond buybacks. The breakdown of U.S.-Canada trade talks and the U.S.'s new plan to isolate Iran economically also weighed on sentiment.
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Three things to watch
- Did the Treasury just revive the debasement trade? Gold and crypto shot higher after the U.S. Treasury Department said it would expand its bond purchases in an effort to contain longer-term yields, sending the dollar sharply lower. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent doubled down the next day. Gold has risen 7% since the first announcement, while bitcoin is up 22%. So is the debasement trade back? "I think it's back on for now due to the U.S. Treasury Department's surprise intervention in the bond market," said Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist at the Schwab Center for Financial Research (SCFR), noting that it revived concerns about U.S. fiscal policy and its impact on the dollar. "Whether it's got legs to the same degree that it did previously, it's hard to say, but that's been a force behind why an asset class like gold has gone straight up to a four-week high."
- Refinery crunch keeps diesel and gas prices elevated: Prices of oil and oil products have parted ways recently, with implications for inflation and the economy. Look at diesel, a key input to farming, freight transportation, and manufacturing. Its price is near all-time highs, up about 125% this year, while oil is only about 48% higher and sits nearly 30% below its March highs. Last week, the spread between diesel futures and WTI oil futures hit an all-time high. The issue is refinery capacity, including at war-damaged facilities in Russia and the Persian Gulf. In July, diesel exports from Russia, the Middle East, and Asia dropped by the equivalent of about 20% of global seaborne trade compared to a year earlier, according to the International Energy Agency. Supplies are falling. U.S. diesel inventories have hit their lowest for this time of year in three decades, while gas supplies are at the lowest since 2012. Repairing damaged refineries will take time, and U.S. refineries are running above 95% capacity, so lower oil prices may not provide much immediate relief at gas and diesel pumps.
- Data on U.S. home prices, new-home sales: Investors will get a fresh look at the housing market this morning, as elevated mortgage rates, economic uncertainty, and rising costs have homebuilders in the grimmest mood in years. Up first is the S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Home Price Index for June, due 30 minutes before the opening bell. Prices in 20 major U.S. metropolitan areas are expected to have risen 1.8% from a year earlier in June. That would be up from 1.6% in May but would still lag inflation. In the broader U.S. market, home values have fallen for 12 straight months in real terms. New-home sales data for July is due at 10 a.m. ET. The consensus estimate is for a 1.4% decline from June, which saw new-home sales at an annual rate of 628,000. That was down more than 5% from a year earlier and the lowest number for the month since 2022.
On the move
- Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS) plunged about 17% before the opening bell after reporting disappointing revenue and lowering its outlook for Foot Locker.
- WTI Crude Oil futures (/CL) fell more than 3% in early trading as the market largely shrugged off Bessent's plan to economically isolate Iran.
- United Airlines (UAL) rose about 3% before the opening bell after it announced new routes to Europe and Japan.
- Chip and memory storage stocks reclaimed some ground in pre-market trading after taking a beating Monday. Seagate (STX) and SanDisk (SNDK) both lost more than 6% Monday, while Micron (MU) and Western Digital (WDC) both fell more than 5%. Nvidia, Marvell (MRVL) and Intel (INTC) all shed about 3%.
- Visa (V) rose 3% Monday to close at an all-time high. It’s recorded five straight days of gains.
- Walmart (WMT) gained nearly 3% Monday as it tried to regain its footing from last week’s selloff, which was sparked by disappointing sales numbers.
- Bitcoin futures (/BTC) briefly topped $80,000 for the first time since May in early trading. They gained nearly 2% Monday as momentum carried over from last week. Bitcoin has gained more than 20% over the past week.
More insights from Schwab
Lingering inflation risk: July's Consumer Price Index (CPI) data offered the Federal Reserve a reprieve, not an all-clear. Plenty of inflation risks remain. Read about them in our latest edition of the Inflation Monitor ahead of Wednesday's Personal Consumption Expenditures inflation data.
" id="body_disclosure--media_disclosure--252376" >Lingering inflation risk: July's Consumer Price Index (CPI) data offered the Federal Reserve a reprieve, not an all-clear. Plenty of inflation risks remain. Read about them in our latest edition of the Inflation Monitor ahead of Wednesday's Personal Consumption Expenditures inflation data.
Jobs data: The Bureau of Labor Statistics is due to release its preliminary benchmark revisions this week. In his look at the Week Ahead, Schwab's Kevin Gordon breaks down what that is and why it matters.
Chart of the day
Data source: CME Group. Chart source: thinkorswim® platform.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
For illustrative purposes only.
Gold futures (/GC—candlesticks) broke above the 200-day moving average (green line) and an intermediate-term downtrend line (white line) last week. Gold futures are up nearly 20% from their July lows and about 7% over the past four trading sessions.
The week ahead
Check out the investors' calendar for a summary of the top economic events and earnings reports on tap this week.
August 26: July PCE and core PCE, July personal income and spending, second quarter GDP second estimate, July durable orders, and expected earnings from Nvidia (NVDA), Salesforce (CRM), Williams-Sonoma (WSM), CrowdStrike (CRWD), Synopsys (SNPS), Agilent (A), HP (HPQ), and Okta (OKTA).
August 27: Expected earnings from Royal Bank of Canada (RY), Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD), Dollar General (DG), Dollar Tree (DLTR), Burlington Stores (BURL), Best Buy (BBY), Marvell Technology (MRVL), Autodesk (ADSK), Workday (WDAY), Affirm Holdings (AFRM), and Ulta Beauty (ULTA).
August 28: Final August University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index.
August 31: No major earnings announcements or events.
September 1: July construction spending, August ISM Manufacturing PMI®, July Job Opening and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), and expected earnings from Medtronic (MDT), Palo Alto Networks (PANW), and Dell (DELL).