Stock Market Update
20-Aug-26 11:30 ET
Stocks retreat as oil jumps, retailers slide
Dow -340.28
at 53122.77,
Nasdaq -217.22
at 26134.90,
S&P -21.89
at 7686.09
[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (-0.3%), Nasdaq Composite (-0.8%), and DJIA (-0.6%) are lower just before midday as stocks contend with a combination of pressures following yesterday's modest advance.
U.S. Treasuries are moving higher today after yesterday's announcement that the Treasury Department will increase its buyback limits provided some relief across the complex. Another spike in oil prices is providing a competing source of pressure, with crude currently up $2.05 (+2.4%) to $86.43 per barrel after President Trump threatened renewed economic measures against Iran.
Stocks are trending mostly lower as a result, with decliners outpacing advancers by roughly 3-to-2 on the NYSE and 2-to-1 on the Nasdaq. Seven S&P 500 sectors trade lower, with retailers under pressure following earnings reports from Advance Auto (AAP 43.20, -12.98, -23.10%) and Walmart (WMT 103.63, -10.67, -9.34%), leaving the consumer staples (-1.6%) and consumer discretionary (-1.6%) sectors at the bottom of the standings.
