Closing Recap

U.S. stocks finished mostly lower, with the Nasdaq leading the declines as a cautious report on tech options hedging spooked investors, while the Dow ended flat; gold and oil prices fell, and Treasury yields slipped ahead of Fed Chair Powell’s key speech at Jackson Hole this week. 

Key Takeaways 

• Tech Leads Market Lower: The Nasdaq Composite fell -1.46% as a Bloomberg report highlighted traders buying “disaster” puts to hedge against a potential tech sell-off. Mega-cap tech names (AMZN, GOOGL, META, MSFT, NVDA) all pulled back. 
• “Buy the Dip” Mentality Pauses: For one of the first times in weeks, an intraday dip was not aggressively bought, with markets selling off into the close. 
• Narrow Market, Negative Breadth: The Dow finished flat, but underlying market breadth on the NYSE was negative, with advancers leading decliners by a slim margin, masked by the significant tech weakness. 
• Focus on Powell at Jackson Hole: Markets are consolidating and showing signs of caution ahead of Fed Chair Powell’s keynote speech at the Jackson Hole symposium on Friday. 
• Gold & Oil Decline: Gold and crude oil prices both fell as risk sentiment soured slightly and the dollar showed some resilience. 
• Yields Slip: Treasury yields declined across the curve as investors braced for the Jackson Hole event and digested hotter-than-expected UK inflation data. 
• Housing Data Mixed: July Housing Starts surged, beating expectations, while Building Permits, a forward-looking indicator, declined. 

Market Overview

U.S. equity markets experienced their first significant day of profit-taking in weeks, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the decline. The S&P 500 and Dow also gave back early gains to finish lower. The primary catalyst appeared to be a Bloomberg report highlighting a surge in options traders purchasing “disaster” puts to hedge against a potential sharp downturn in technology stocks. This report seemed to crystallize growing nervousness about the sector’s massive, nearly 40% rally since the April lows and increasingly stretched valuations, prompting a sell-off in the very mega-cap names that have propelled the market higher. 

Index	Up/Down	% Change	Last
DJ Industrials	10.57	0.0002	44922
S&P 500	-37.67	-0.0058	6411
Nasdaq	-314.82	-0.0146	21314
Russell 2000	-17.86	-0.0078	2276

The session marked a notable change in character, as the “buy the dip” mentality that has been so prevalent in recent weeks was absent. Stocks opened higher but saw selling pressure for the remainder of the day, a rare occurrence in the current market environment. Even the Dow, which had hit an intraday all-time high, reversed to close flat. Market breadth on the NYSE was positive, but this was misleading as the damage was concentrated in the large-cap tech space that dominates the major indices. 

Investors are also adopting a more cautious stance ahead of the Federal Reserve’s annual Jackson Hole symposium later this week, with Chairman Jerome Powell’s keynote speech on Friday being the main event. While recent cooler U.S. inflation data has fueled hopes for rate cuts, a hotter-than-expected UK CPI report today served as a reminder that global inflation pressures persist, complicating the central bank narrative. On the corporate front, Home Depot’s earnings were in focus, and investors now await results from other major retailers for a clearer picture of the American consumer.

Economic Data

Economic data yesterday on the U.S. housing market was mixed, with a strong surge in housing starts offset by a decline in building permits. H

• Housing Starts (July): Rose +5.2% m/m to a 1.428 million unit annualized rate (well above 1.290M consensus). Single-family starts +2.8%, Multifamily +9.9%. 
• Building Permits (July): Fell -2.8% m/m to a 1.354 million unit annualized rate (below 1.386M consensus). Single-family permits +0.5%, Multifamily -8.2%. 
• UK Inflation (July – Reported this morning): Headline CPI Y/Y: +3.8% (vs. +3.7% est.). 
• Core CPI Y/Y: +3.8% (vs. +3.7% est.). 

Commodities, Currencies, and Treasuries 

Gold prices fell, with December futures down $19.30 (-0.57%) to settle at $3,358.70 per ounce, pressured by a firmer U.S. dollar and perhaps some position-squaring ahead of Jackson Hole. Crude oil prices also declined, with WTI settling down $1.07 (-1.69%) at $62.35/bbl, as demand concerns linked to the tech sell-off and broader market caution outweighed any supply-side tightness. Natural gas prices tumbled over 4% to nine-month lows on high inventories and mild weather forecasts. 

Asset	Up/Down	Unit / % Change	Last
WTI Crude	-1.07	USD/bbl	62.35
Brent	-0.81	USD/bbl	65.79
Gold	-19.3	USD/oz	3358.7
EUR/USD	-0.0003	USD	1.1657
USD/JPY	-0.38	JPY	147.48
10-Year Note	-0.037	%	0.04302

Treasury yields slipped across the curve in a range-bound session, with the benchmark 10-year yield falling about 3.7 basis points to 4.302%. Investors sought the relative safety of bonds as equities faltered and they awaited guidance from the Fed. The U.S. dollar was mixed, easing slightly against the Yen but holding firm against the Euro and a weaker British Pound following the hot UK inflation data.

Looking Ahead 

The market will be closely watching for any follow-through on today’s tech-led sell-off. The focus for the rest of the week will be squarely on the Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole symposium, particularly Chairman Powell’s speech on Friday, for any clues on the future path of monetary policy. In the meantime, earnings reports from major retailers like Lowe’s, Walmart, and Target will provide critical insights into the health of the U.S. consumer and the impact of tariffs. The FOMC meeting minutes will also be released tomorrow but may be viewed as outdated given recent data shifts.