Here’s how the major U.S. stock indices performed during the week of Monday, August 18 to Friday, August 22, 2025:

Data sources: S&P 500 Monday open from Investing.com; Friday closes for S&P/Dow/Nasdaq from AP; Dow Monday open from Investing.com; Nasdaq Monday open from Yahoo Finance; NYSE Composite Monday open & Friday close from Yahoo Finance; NYSE American (AMEX) Monday open & Friday close from Yahoo Finance. Values rounded to the nearest dollar; point change = Friday close − Monday open (using the rounded values).

Weekly Market Summary

Markets chopped early in the week, with megacap tech dragging the Nasdaq to a small weekly loss even as cyclicals held up. On Friday (Aug 22), Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaled the door is open to a near-term rate cut at Jackson Hole, igniting a broad rally that sent the Dow to a record close and lifted the S&P 500 ~1.5%. Rate-sensitive areas and small caps outperformed into the close as Treasury yields fell on the remarks. For the week, the S&P 500 eked out a +0.3% gain, the Dow rose +1.5%, while the Nasdaq slipped −0.6%. Overall tone ended risk-on into the weekend, with breadth improving vs. earlier tech-led weakness.

Five Stocks Worth Watching

• Intuit (INTU) — slid after guiding Q1 revenue below estimates; one of the few large caps down on the Friday surge.
• Nvidia (NVDA) — in focus amid China chip adjustments (H20 pause/new design), keeping policy risk elevated even as AI demand stays strong.
• Tesla (TSLA) — popped ~5%+ into Friday’s rally, a sentiment barometer for high-beta tech/consumer risk.
• Coinbase (COIN) — gained ~6% as crypto-linked equities rallied alongside the broader risk bid.
• Nio (NIO) — jumped double-digits Friday, emblematic of the powerful squeeze in high-beta growth.

What The Prediction Markets Says (As Of August 22, 2025):

• Fed cut on Sept. 17, 2025 (25 bps) — Huge, high-liquidity contract: Polymarket shows ~$43M traded on the “September Fed decision,” with desk write-ups putting the odds of a 25-bp cut around the ~80% range after Powell’s Jackson Hole remarks. Why it matters: it anchors rates, yields, and equity multiples for Q4.
• “Best AI model” by end of August (Chatbot Arena) — Traders heavily favor Google to top the leaderboard by Aug 31 (~96%), far ahead of xAI and OpenAI; seven-figure volumes per outcome make this a bellwether for AI leadership sentiment.
• Largest company by market cap on Aug 31 — The “end-of-month crown” market prices Nvidia as overwhelming favorite (~97.5%) with solid turnover; a clean read on mega-cap breadth and AI-trade durability into month-end.

Please note that stock market investments carry inherent risks, and past performance does not guarantee future results.

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