S&P 500 up 0.32% — Market Pulse · Aug 25, 2026

U.S. stocks finished higher on Aug. 25, with the S&P 500 up 24.42 points to 7677.28, the Dow up 160.24 to 53577.40, the Nasdaq up 171.11 to 26151.30, and the Russell 2000 up 14.94 to 3010.02. The gains were broad across the major indexes, but the internals were less convincing.

Key Takeaways

• S&P 500 closed up 0.32% at 7,677.28.
• Market breadth finished with 207 advancers, 294 decliners, and a 0.704 advance/decline ratio.
• Technology led sectors at +0.94%, while Energy lagged at -1.66%.
• VIX ended at 15.45 in the latest five-session lookback.
• SPY’s first resistance is 765.07 and first support is 761.96.

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Market Breadth: Indexes rise again, but breadth softens beneath the surface

Metric	Aug 19	Aug 20	Aug 21	Aug 24	Aug 25
Advance/Decline Ratio	1.346	0.463	2.000	1.564	0.704
Advances	288	158	334	305	207
Declines	214	341	167	195	294
Advancing Volume	61.8%	28.5%	64.5%	49.4%	56.6%
Stocks Near 52-Week Highs	14	5	19	17	22
Stocks Near 52-Week Lows	1	4	4	5	3
% Above 20-Day MA	54.3%	45.7%	50.1%	53.3%	51.5%
% Above 50-Day MA	61.2%	54.5%	57.9%	60.4%	58.9%
% Above 200-Day MA	74.6%	73.0%	72.2%	74.0%	72.0%

NYSE breadth was mixed. Advancers totaled 207 versus 294 decliners, for an advance-decline ratio of 0.704, even as 56.61% of volume flowed into rising stocks. Participation was near the midpoint, with 50.5% of stocks above their 20-day moving average, 58.25% above the 50-day, and 69.58% above the 200-day. There were 22 stocks near 52-week highs and 2 near 52-week lows in the daily snapshot, while the five-session lookback showed highs rising to 22 from 17 on Aug. 24.

Explore the full dashboard: Market breadth.

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Market Performance: Major Indexes

Index	Close	Change	% Change
S&P 500	7,677.28	24.42	+0.32%
Dow Jones Industrial Average	53,577.40	160.24	+0.30%
Nasdaq Composite	26,151.30	171.11	+0.66%
Russell 2000	3,010.02	14.94	+0.50%

Five-session context:

Index	Aug 19	Aug 20	Aug 21	Aug 24	Aug 25
S&P 500	+0.21%	-0.87%	+0.43%	-0.28%	+0.32%
Dow Jones Industrial Average	+0.22%	-1.32%	+0.98%	+0.26%	+0.30%
Nasdaq Composite	+0.16%	-1.00%	+0.43%	-0.76%	+0.66%
Russell 2000	+0.50%	-1.34%	+0.85%	-0.76%	+0.50%

The Nasdaq Composite led with a 0.66% gain, followed by the Russell 2000 at 0.50%, the S&P 500 at 0.32%, and the Dow at 0.30%. Over the past five sessions, trading has been choppy rather than one way. The S&P 500 moved from 7707.98 on Aug. 19 to 7677.28 on Aug. 25, while the Nasdaq moved from 26331.09 to 26151.30 after swings that included a 1.00% drop on Aug. 20 and a 0.66% rebound on Aug. 25.

Explore the full dashboard: Market snapshot.

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Sector View: Leaders and Laggards

• Leaders: Technology (XLK +0.94%), Communication Services (XLC +0.77%), Health Care (XLV +0.34%), Utilities (XLU +0.21%), Financials (XLF +0.15%)
• Laggards: Energy (XLE -1.66%), Consumer Staples (XLP -1.06%), Industrials (XLI -0.34%), Consumer Discretionary (XLY -0.30%), Materials (XLB 0.00%)

Leadership came from Technology, with XLK up 0.94%, and Communication Services, with XLC up 0.77%. Health Care added 0.34%, Utilities rose 0.21%, and Financials gained 0.15%. On the other side, Energy fell 1.66% and Consumer Staples dropped 1.06%. Industrials slipped 0.34%, Consumer Discretionary fell 0.30%, and Materials finished flat.

Explore the full dashboard: Sector performance.

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Volatility: VIX and ETF Implied Volatility

Metric	Aug 19	Aug 20	Aug 21	Aug 24	Aug 25
VIX Level	14.89	16.01	15.13	15.85	15.45

• SPY IV: 10.63% (Low)
• QQQ IV: 16.62% (Normal)
• IWM IV: 14.14% (Low)
• DIA IV: 11.73% (Low)

Volatility stayed contained. The VIX closed at 15.45, down from 15.85 on Aug. 24 and below the five-session peak of 16.01 on Aug. 20. Options pricing also pointed to a relatively calm backdrop, with SPY implied volatility at 10.63% and labeled Low, IWM at 14.14% and Low, DIA at 11.73% and Low, and QQQ at 16.62% and Normal.

Explore the full dashboard: Volatility.

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Headlines Moving Markets

The main policy item on Aug. 25 was the Federal Reserve release of the minutes of the Board’s discount rate meetings on July 20 and July 29, 2026. In the background, recent macro releases showed second-quarter 2026 real GDP increasing at an annual rate of 1.5%, down from 2.1% in the first quarter. Personal income and outlays data for June showed personal income up 0.2%, disposable personal income up 0.2%, and personal consumption expenditures up 0.3%.

• Minutes of the Board’s discount rate meetings on July 20 and July 29, 2026
• GDP (Advance Estimate), 2nd Quarter 2026
• Personal Income and Outlays, June 2026
• Personal Income and Outlays, May 2026
• Personal Income and Outlays, April 2026
• Personal Income and Outlays, January 2026
• Personal Income and Outlays, December 2025
• Federal Reserve issues FOMC statement
• Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee, July 28–29, 2026
• Minutes of the Board’s discount rate meetings on June 8 and June 17, 2026
• Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee, June 16-17, 2026
• Federal Reserve Board requests comment on a proposal to modernize its rule governing the extension of credit to bank “insiders”—bank executives, board members and major shareholders who could potentially influence a bank’s lending decisions

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Technical Snapshot (SPY)

Level	Aug 19	Aug 20	Aug 21	Aug 24	Aug 25
20-day SMA	758.64	759.72	760.94	762.28	763.51
50-day SMA	749.50	750.13	750.68	751.52	752.07
200-day SMA	703.59	704.07	704.50	704.94	705.41

Near-term pivot structure, based on 2026-08-24:

• Resistance: 765.07 (R1), then 766.69 (R2)
• Pivot: 763.58
• Support: 761.96 (S1), then 760.47 (S2)

SPY technical levels remain closely stacked. Using the Aug. 24 reference, the traditional pivot is 763.58, with resistance at 765.07 and 766.69, and support at 761.96 and 760.47. The 20-day SMA is 763.51, almost identical to the pivot, while the 50-day and 200-day SMAs sit lower at 752.07 and 705.41. Across the last five sessions, those moving averages continued to slope higher, with the 20-day SMA rising from 758.64 on Aug. 19 to 763.51 on Aug. 25.

Explore the full dashboard: Support & Resistance levels.

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What to Watch Next

• Breadth follow-through after a 0.32% S&P 500 gain came with only 207 advancers against 294 decliners.
• Whether SPY can hold around the 763.58 pivot and 763.51 20-day SMA while testing 765.07 and 766.69 resistance.
• Tech leadership versus internal softness, especially after XLK rose 0.94% and the Nasdaq gained 0.66%.
• Volatility tone. The VIX eased to 15.45, while QQQ implied volatility at 16.62% still sits above SPY at 10.63%.
• Institutional positioning remained net bullish in the included flow data, with options whale call premium at $179,513,208 versus put premium at $77,798,249, and stock whale net value at $1,954,767,221.37.
• Sector split, with Energy down 1.66% even as Technology and Communication Services led.

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Bottom Line

Tuesday’s tape was constructive at the index level, but weaker breadth kept the move from looking fully broad based. With volatility still subdued, the next question is whether participation improves enough to support the recent climb in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq.

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Market Pulse provides daily analysis of S&P 500 market breadth, sector rotation, and volatility signals to help investors understand what’s happening beneath the surface. Data sourced from our real-time market breadth collectors. For personalized planning, explore our retirement calculators, investment tools, and FIRE planning resources.

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