Evening Market Recap

Sophia Reyes · August 21, 2025 4:26 PM

Market Snapshot for Thursday August 21^st, 2025

S&P 500 – 6,370.17 (-0.40%)

Dow Jones – 44,785.50 (-0.34%)

NASDAQ – 21,100.31 (-0.34%)

Market Performance

Stocks slipped broadly on Thursday, with the S&P 500 marking a fifth consecutive day of losses as investors turn their attention to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech on Friday. The S&P 500 fell 0.4% to close at 6,370.17, while the Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.34% to 21,100.31. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 152.81 points, or 0.34%, ending at 44,785.50.

Tech stocks also weighed on the market this week, with investors taking profits from high-flying names such as Nvidia, Palantir, and Meta Platforms. For the week, the S&P 500 has fallen 1.2%, the Nasdaq is down 2.4%, and the Dow is on track for a roughly 0.4% decline.

Economic Takeaways –

• Initial jobless claims rose slightly last week, but layoffs remain limited, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Claims totaled 235,000 for the week ending August 16, up 11,000 from the previous week and above the Dow Jones estimate of 225,000—the highest level since June 21, yet still within the range seen in recent years.
• The Philadelphia Federal Reserve’s August manufacturing index came in at a surprisingly weak -0.3, down sharply from 15.9 in July and below the expected 7.0. The new orders index fell to -1.9, while the prices paid index climbed to its highest level since May 2022, reflecting a mix of contraction and rising costs among surveyed companies.
• Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose, with Australian stocks among the top gainers, breaking ranks with key Wall Street peers that saw declines led by tech stocks.
• The Department of Justice will investigate Cook based on a criminal referral with allegations about Cook’s mortgages, according to a letter obtained by CNBC’s Sara Eisen on Thursday.

Gold –

• Gold edged down as investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole gathering for clues on the path for US interest rates.

Oil –

• Oil prices rose by nearly a dollar a barrel on Thursday as Russia and Ukraine blamed each other for a stalled peace process, and as earlier U.S. data showed signs of strong demand in the top oil consuming nation.
• Brent crude futures were up 85 cents, or about 1.3%, at $67.69 a barrel at 1:42 p.m. EDT (1742 GMT), having hit a two-week high earlier in the session.
• S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 86 cents, or 1.4%, at $63.57 a barrel.

Crypto –

• Bitcoin price dip hinges on $114K as market shrugs off the US-EU trade deal.
• A Bitcoin whale with $1.67 billion holdings swapped a portion to open leveraged long positions on Ethereum, but experts suggest there’s more to this move.

Investor Sentiment, Tech, and Market Movers: Midweek Wrap

Retail investors remain unusually bearish, according to the latest American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) survey. Bearish sentiment toward stocks over the next six months eased slightly to 44.8% from 46.2% but has remained above the historical average of 31% for the 38th time in 40 weeks. Bullish sentiment inched up to 30.8%, still below the long-term average of 37.5%, while neutral sentiment held near 24.4%, well below its typical 31.5% benchmark.

On earnings guidance, 40.2% of investors said companies’ forecasts matched expectations, 34.6% said guidance exceeded expectations, and just 4.3% reported worse-than-expected guidance.

Individual Stocks:

• Palantir shares are heading for their worst week since April, down roughly 12% for the week despite being up over 100% year-to-date. If the stock closes higher Thursday, it would end a six-day losing streak, its longest since April 2024.
• Solar Energy Stocks fell sharply after President Trump said the U.S. will not approve new solar or wind projects. The Invesco Solar ETF (TAN) dropped more than 3%, while Sunrun, First Solar, and SolarEdge lost 8%, 6%, and 4%, respectively.
• Coty plunged over 20% following quarterly results that beat revenue expectations but posted a larger-than-expected loss and a cautious outlook for early fiscal 2026.
• Paramount Skydance jumped 15% after strong Q2 earnings, with its streaming division posting an unexpected profit.
• Xpeng U.S. shares surged over 14% after CEO Xiaopeng He bought 3.1 million shares, and the company reported better-than-expected revenue and a narrower Q2 loss.

Housing Market:

July sales of previously owned homes rose 2% from June to 4.01 million units, slightly above expectations and 0.8% higher than a year ago. Inventory climbed 15.7% from last year to 1.55 million units, representing a 4.6-month supply—the highest since May 2020, though still below pre-pandemic levels.

Trump Says U.S. Will Block Solar and Wind Projects

President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that his administration will not approve new solar or wind power projects, even as electricity demand outpaces supply in parts of the U.S., raising concerns among renewable energy companies about future permitting.

“We will not approve wind or farmer destroying Solar,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding, “The days of stupidity are over in the USA!!!” The president has previously criticized solar projects for taking up too much land.

The comments follow last month’s tightening of federal permitting for renewable projects, now centralized under Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. Trump blamed renewables for rising electricity prices on the nation’s largest grid, PJM Interconnection, as demand from data centers and other industries grows while coal and other traditional power plants are retired.

Top Gainers

Several stocks experienced significant gains. Some of the top gainers included:

XPeng, Inc. (XPEV) +11.68%

Full Truck Alliance (YMM) +9.81%

Telix Pharmaceuticals (TLX) +10.21%

Nio, Inc. (NIO) +9.27%

Aegon Ltd. (AEG) +7.64

Top Losers

The top US stock losers today, based on percentage change included:

Hesai Group (HSAI) -11.00%

Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) -7.86%

WW International (WW) -7.41%

CVR Energy, Inc. (CVI) -7.10%

First Solar, Inc. (FSLR) -6.99%

Notables

• Nordson Corp. shares jumped over 5% following stronger-than-expected earnings and revenue, with the company noting that full-year sales are tracking slightly above the midpoint of its earlier guidance.
• Cracker Barrel Old Country Store dipped roughly 2% after unveiling an updated logo earlier this week, which drew some criticism on social media.
• Coty shares plunged over 15% in after-hours trading after the beauty retailer projected a weak first half of fiscal 2026, expecting declines in both sales and profits.
• Intel (INTC) fell after reports that major investors are negotiating discounted equity stakes, following an earlier rally from SoftBank’s $2 billion investment.
• Boeing (BA) gained on Bloomberg reports of potential deals to sell up to 500 planes to China.
• Instacart (CART) dropped after Wedbush downgraded the stock to Underperform.
• Renewable energy stocks weakened after former President Trump stated he would not approve solar or wind projects.
• HP Enterprise (HPE) rose 2% pre-market after a Morgan Stanley upgrade to Overweight.
• Microsoft and the National Football League (NFL) announced on Wednesday a multiyear extension of their technology partnership, aimed at using artificial intelligence to enhance both on-field and operational aspects of professional football.
• Crypto-linked stocks including MicroStrategy (MSTR), Coinbase (COIN), and Circle (CRCL) fell early Thursday alongside Bitcoin, which remains below recent highs.
• Disney (DIS) launched its ESPN streaming platform, offering full access to ESPN programming without a cable bundle.

What to Watch Ahead

Attention now turns to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who is set to speak on Friday at the central bank’s annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Markets are keen to gauge Powell’s outlook on interest rates, with Fed funds futures currently implying nearly an 80% probability of a rate cut at the Fed’s September meeting, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.

Cleveland Fed president Beth Hammack said Thursday that the case for cutting interest rates in September would be a hard one to make given recent economic data.

“There’s a lot of data we’re going to get between now and September and I walk into every meeting with an open mind about what the right thing to do is, but with the data I have right now and with the information I have, if the meeting was tomorrow, I would not see a case for reducing interest rates,” Hammack told Yahoo Finance at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium.

Minutes from the Fed’s July meeting revealed ongoing concerns about the labor market and inflation, though most policymakers agreed it is too early to reduce rates. Notably, Fed governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman dissented on holding rates steady, marking the first dual dissent by board members since 1993.

“Stock valuations are very elevated heading into Jackson Hole, and investors have high expectations that Powell will signal a September rate cut,” said Rick Gardner, chief investment officer at RGA Investments. “Anything short of that could prompt some profit-taking, especially with lighter August trading volumes and a cautious risk appetite heading into the weekend.”