Markets News, Aug. 26, 2026: Dow Streak Ends After PCE Data, Nvidia in Focus

All three major U.S. stock indexes closed lower Wednesday, ending the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s three-session winning streak. Before the opening bell, the July Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index showed inflation holding at 3.7%, slightly above forecasts. The Dow fell 0.2%, the largest decline of the three benchmarks. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.1%, and the S&P 500 finished fractionally lower. The small-cap Russell 2000 also closed in the red.

Traders trimmed their bets on a Federal Reserve rate hike in September even as stocks dipped. After the closing bell, Nvidia released its second-quarter report and said sales, profits and its third-quarter revenue outlook all beat estimates.

Individual stocks moved far more than the indexes. Abercrombie & Fitch rallied 36% after raising its outlook. Zoom Communications fell 7% on soft guidance. Meta Platforms agreed to an $18 billion legal settlement with state attorneys general. Boston Scientific disclosed a cyberattack that disrupted its operations worldwide. JinkoSolar dropped 12% after weak results and the resignation of its chief executive.

Indexes Drift as Single Stocks Swing

The session followed a rebound in chip stocks on Tuesday, covered in Stock Market Today, Aug. 25, 2026. Before Wednesday’s open, futures tied to the Dow traded near flat as traders waited for the PCE release and for Nvidia’s results later in the day. The major benchmarks then spent the regular session close to unchanged. The Dow’s 0.2% decline ended its three-day run of gains, the Nasdaq’s 0.1% loss left the tech-heavy index just below Tuesday’s close, and the S&P 500’s move was smaller still.

Sector performance under the S&P 500 was close to evenly split. Five of the index’s 11 sectors were in positive territory during the session, led by industrials. The Magnificent Seven mega-cap technology stocks finished mixed and mostly near unchanged. Meta gained after its legal settlement, and Nvidia fell ahead of its report.

Earnings drove most of the largest moves. Several companies reported before the opening bell or late Tuesday, and the gaps between their results and Wall Street’s expectations produced double-digit swings in Abercrombie & Fitch and JinkoSolar. Meta and Boston Scientific moved on company-specific news unrelated to quarterly results.

PCE Inflation Holds at 3.7%, a Tenth Above Forecasts

The Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Wednesday morning that the PCE price index rose 3.7% from a year earlier in July. That matched June’s reading and came in a tenth of a percentage point above the 3.6% that economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal had forecast. A temporary decline in gasoline prices was not enough to pull the overall index down.

Core PCE in Line at 3.3%

Core PCE, which excludes food and energy, rose 3.3% from a year earlier in July, in line with expectations. The Fed treats PCE as its preferred inflation gauge and relies on the core measure to judge progress toward its 2% annual inflation target. Inflation has not been at that target since 2021.

The headline reading ran 0.4 percentage point above core, meaning food and energy prices added to inflation over the past year. The core figure showed no acceleration in underlying inflation, and the headline figure showed no meaningful cooling from June. For a longer comparison with past readings, see the U.S. inflation rate by year.

September Hike Odds Fall to 36%

Fed officials have been debating whether the central bank should raise its key interest rate at its meeting next month, with inflation neither rising sharply nor easing substantially. Wednesday’s report did not give either side of that debate enough evidence to settle it, and futures pricing moved modestly toward no change.

The CME Group’s FedWatch tool showed traders assigning a 36% chance of a September rate hike, down from 40% a day earlier.

Jamie Cox, managing partner at Harris Financial Group, wrote in commentary that inflation is stubbornly sticky at the moment, but not sticky enough to push the Fed into raising rates.

Stocks still edged lower on a day when hike odds fell. The headline inflation number was a slight upside surprise, and the 10-year Treasury yield rose after the release.

Nvidia Reports After the Close

Nvidia released its second-quarter results after the closing bell, ahead of a 5 p.m. ET conference call. The company said both sales and profits beat analysts’ estimates, and its revenue outlook for the third quarter was also better than expected.

The chipmaker is the world’s most valuable public company, with a market capitalization above $5 trillion. Its chips power much of the artificial intelligence infrastructure being built by large technology companies, and its quarterly reports have become major events on the trading calendar. The results regularly spill over to other chipmakers, cloud-computing providers, data-center suppliers and the broader AI trade, and executives’ comments on the call can move the market on their own.

Shares Fell 1.6% Before the Report

Nvidia shares fell 1.6% during Wednesday’s regular session. The stock was about 1% lower in early trading and extended its decline later in the day. The drop came a day after the shares ended a seven-session losing streak, their longest since 2022, the year rising interest rates hit technology stocks hard.

The stock has still had a solid 2026. It finished the first half of the year up a little more than 7%, trailing the S&P 500. By Tuesday’s close it was up 14% year-to-date, the best performance in the Magnificent Seven group and ahead of the index.

The stock ended Tuesday around $213, below its record highs above $236, set in May. AI-linked stocks have retreated from their spring highs as enthusiasm for the group waned and concerns about the scale of AI spending weighed on it at several points this summer. Those concerns drove the selloff described in Stock Market Today, July 16, 2026.

Analysts Focused on Commentary and Financing Deals

Several Wall Street analysts said before the report that strong numbers alone might not be enough to win back wary investors, and that they would listen as closely to executives’ comments on the call as to the reported figures. One focus was Nvidia’s recent financing deals. Analysts see those deals as a possible window into the health of the AI buildout and into the durability of demand for the company’s chips beyond the current quarter. Revenue growth and margins were the other measures analysts flagged for the guidance they give on the company’s direction.

Wall Street expected the stock could make a substantial move by the end of the week.

Earnings Movers

Consensus estimates cited below come from analysts polled by Visible Alpha.

Abercrombie & Fitch Soars 36%

Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) shares soared 36%, the best performance of the session. The New Albany, Ohio-based fashion retailer had entered Wednesday down 13% for the year, so the rally more than erased that decline. The stock was up 11% in premarket trading and extended its gains after the open.

The company reported second-quarter profit of $4.17 per share on both a GAAP and non-GAAP basis. Analysts had expected $1.92 on a GAAP basis and $1.98 adjusted. Net sales rose 5% from a year earlier to a record $1.27 billion, ahead of the $1.24 billion consensus.

The profit figure included a benefit of $1.75 per share from tariff refunds tied to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Excluding that one-time item, earnings per share would still have topped estimates, by a much narrower margin.

Results were mixed at the brand level. Sales at the Abercrombie brand rose 8%, while Hollister sales gained 2%. Comparable sales were flat, short of expectations for roughly 0.5% growth, because Hollister comparable sales fell 3%.

Guidance drove the rally. The retailer’s third-quarter profit and sales forecasts topped consensus estimates, as did its raised full-year forecasts for both measures. Chief executive Fran Horowitz said the company was adding new growth levers across partnerships, distribution channels and product categories.

J.M. Smucker Rises 4.5% on Raised Forecasts

J.M. Smucker (SJM) shares rose 4.5%. The stock had gained 3.5% in premarket trading after the packaged-food company posted fiscal 2027 first-quarter results. Chief executive Mark Smucker said the results exceeded the company’s own expectations.

The Orrville, Ohio-based company owns its namesake jams and jellies along with Jif peanut butter, Folgers coffee, Milk-Bone dog treats, Hostess snacks, Uncrustables frozen sandwiches and Meow Mix cat food. It reported adjusted earnings of $3.24 per share, and revenue rose 5% from a year earlier to $2.22 billion. Analysts had expected $2.21 per share and $2.13 billion in revenue.

The company raised its full-year forecasts on three fronts:

• Adjusted earnings per share: $10.50 to $11, up from $9.75 to $10.25.
• Net sales: a decline of 1% to 2%, narrower than the previously forecast decline of 3% to 4%.
• Free cash flow: $1.1 billion, up from $1 billion.

Management named its strategic priorities as organic volume growth across its key brands, improved profitability, faster earnings growth and disciplined capital deployment. The shares entered Wednesday up 28% since the start of 2026, and Wednesday’s gain added to that advance.

Zoom Falls 7% on Soft Profit Guidance

Zoom Communications (ZM) fell 7% even though it beat second-quarter estimates. The San Jose, California-based videoconferencing company issued its results Tuesday, reporting adjusted earnings of $1.55 per share on revenue up 5% to $1.28 billion. Analysts had expected $1.48 and $1.27 billion.

The decline followed the company’s outlook. Zoom forecast fiscal 2027 third-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.46 to $1.48 per share, below the $1.51 consensus. The weaker profit projection outweighed the second-quarter beat.

Other parts of the report were stronger. Enterprise revenue rose nearly 8% to $787.5 million, which founder and CEO Eric Yuan described as its fastest growth in three years. The number of customers contributing more than $100,000 in trailing 12-month revenue increased more than 8%.

Yuan also said Zoom’s AI-first customer-experience portfolio was producing high-double-digit growth in annual recurring revenue. He attributed part of that to adoption of Zoom Virtual Agent, whose customer count rose 256% from a year earlier. The shares had been up 9% for the year before Wednesday’s decline.

JinkoSolar Plunges 12% as CEO Resigns

U.S.-listed shares of JinkoSolar (JKS) plunged 12% after the Chinese solar-panel maker reported weak second-quarter results and announced a leadership change.

The company posted a loss of $0.49 per share, much wider than the $0.21 loss analysts expected. Revenue fell roughly 30% from a year earlier to $1.82 billion, short of the $2.09 billion forecast.

JinkoSolar said CEO Xiande Li had resigned, effective immediately. He was replaced by Wei “Dimi” Du, who had served as vice president of strategic investment since April. The company said Li’s departure did not stem from any disagreement and that he would remain chairman.

Li described the change as part of a carefully planned succession. Under the arrangement, he will concentrate on long-term strategy, board governance and major strategic decisions. The new CEO will lead management in running day-to-day operations, strategic execution and capital allocation at the group level. Wednesday’s drop brought the U.S.-listed shares’ year-to-date loss to 47%.

Intuit, Bath & Body Works and Kohl’s

Several other companies also moved after their reports. Financial-software maker Intuit (INTU) fell 3%. Bath & Body Works (BBWI) advanced 7.5%, and department-store operator Kohl’s (KSS) gained 1.5%.

Meta Agrees to $18 Billion Settlement

Meta Platforms (META) shares rose 1% after the parent of Facebook and Instagram agreed to pay about $18 billion to end a lengthy legal battle over the effects of its platforms on minors. The stock had been up 1.5% intraday. The suit was brought by more than 50 U.S. state attorneys general, territories and the District of Columbia.

The federal suit, filed in October 2023, alleged that Meta designed and deployed harmful features on Instagram and Facebook that addict children and teenagers and damage their mental and physical health.

Beyond the payment, Meta agreed to make changes to both platforms. California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced that the changes include:

• default daily time limits
• a block on overnight use that only a parent can lift
• expanded parental supervision tools
• stronger age-assurance measures to identify users under 18 and children under 13
• an independent auditor to oversee compliance

In a blog post, Meta urged TikTok and YouTube to join it and the state attorneys general in adopting the same standard, saying that was needed for meaningful progress in ensuring teens use social media in a healthy and responsible way. The settlement still requires court approval. Meta shares remain 12% lower for the year.

Boston Scientific Discloses a Cyberattack

Boston Scientific (BSX) shares fell more than 4% in early trading, putting the medical-device maker among the S&P 500’s biggest decliners at that point in the session.

In a regulatory filing, the Marlborough, Massachusetts-based company said that on Tuesday it had identified a cybersecurity incident affecting certain of its information technology systems. The incident resulted in what the company called a global disruption to its operations.

The company said the incident has caused, and is expected to keep causing, disruptions and limits on access to systems. The affected functions include its ability to process and ship customer orders. Boston Scientific said it is working to restore affected functions and systems access, but the timeline for full restoration is not yet known.

Because the investigation is ongoing, the company said it has not yet determined whether the incident is reasonably likely to have a material impact. The stock had already lost half its value in 2026 before the disclosure.

Industrials Lead the Sectors

Industrials were the top-performing of the S&P 500’s 11 sectors, up 1% in afternoon trading while the broader index ticked lower. Freight and logistics names led the group.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW), a third-party logistics and freight brokerage company, gained more than 6%. Trucking company FedEx Freight Holding (FDXF) rose more than 3.5%.

Industrials were one of five sectors in positive territory during the session, against six that were lower. Index-level performance and history are tracked on the S&P 500 quote page.

Other Markets

Treasury Yields and the Dollar

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose above 4.66%, up three basis points from Tuesday’s close. The move followed the slightly hotter-than-expected headline PCE reading. The 10-year yield influences interest rates on a range of consumer loans, including mortgages.

The U.S. dollar index rose 0.3% to 99.16.

Oil Recovers From Early Losses on Hormuz News

Crude oil prices ended little changed after sharp losses early Wednesday. The early decline followed a statement from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that the country had reached an agreement with Oman to share control of the Strait of Hormuz and the revenue from it. The strait lies between Iran and Oman.

As of 4 p.m. ET, West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. benchmark, were down 0.5% at around $82 a barrel. Brent crude futures, the global benchmark, were 0.4% lower at $86.60. Both contracts finished well off their early lows.

Gold and Bitcoin

Gold futures fell nearly 1% to $4,650 an ounce but stayed near their highest level in more than three months. The decline came alongside the stronger dollar and the higher 10-year yield.

Bitcoin traded around $78,500, down slightly over 24 hours. On Tuesday it topped $80,000 for the first time since May 15.

What Comes Next

CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD) and Salesforce (CRM) were also scheduled to report after Wednesday’s close. Their results add readings on cybersecurity and enterprise software spending on the same evening as Nvidia’s report and its 5 p.m. ET call.

The next major policy event is the Fed’s September meeting, where officials will decide whether to raise the central bank’s key interest rate. FedWatch put the odds of a hike at 36% after the July PCE report, down from 40% before it. Inflation and labor-market data released before the meeting are the remaining inputs officials will see before they decide.