Weekly Market Wrap: Week of August 3, 2026

U.S. stocks climbed over the week of August 3, and this time the gains reached well beyond the largest names. Measured from the prior Friday’s close through this Friday, the S&P 500-tracking SPY rose 3.51%, the Dow-tracking fund added 2.92%, and the Nasdaq-heavy QQQ jumped 5.09%. The small-cap Russell 2000 kept pace, gaining 3.56%. The S&P 500 ended at 7,757.64, with the Dow at 54,036.93 and the Nasdaq Composite at 26,690.62. Every major average finished the week meaningfully higher.

Technology led the sector scoreboard, up 7.20%. Materials followed with a 4.82% gain, and consumer discretionary rose 3.25%. Eight of the eleven sectors advanced on the week. Industrials added 2.97%, communication services 2.78%, and health care 1.93%, while financials edged up 1.16% and consumer staples finished all but flat at 0.08%. The tilt toward technology and the more cyclical, growth-leaning corners of the market shaped the tape. Technology alone gained more than seven percentage points, and four other groups finished the week up more than two, a spread of strength that reached across most of the board.

Energy was the week’s weakest group, down 3.44%. Utilities fell 1.67%, and real estate slipped 0.20%. Those were the only three sectors to close lower. The 10.64-point spread between technology’s gain and energy’s loss framed the week, a swing away from the defensive leadership that had held up better in recent stretches.

Breadth was wide. Eight sectors advanced, and the Russell 2000’s 3.56% gain slightly outran the S&P 500’s 3.51%, a sign the strength was not confined to the megacap complex. Large caps and small caps both climbed more than three percentage points, a broad-based move rather than the top-heavy grind that defined late July. That marked a shift from the narrow, large-cap-led tape of the prior week. Volatility eased. The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX), a widely cited gauge of expected near-term price swings, ended the week at 14.90, below its longer-run historical average. The 10-year Treasury yield stood at 4.63%.

The week’s marquee data landed Friday. The July employment report showed nonfarm payrolls fell by 23,000, against forecasts for a gain of 80,000 and a prior month that had added 20,000. The unemployment rate edged down to 4.1% as labor force participation slipped to 61.4%. Wage growth cooled as well. Average hourly earnings rose 3.2% from a year earlier and 0.1% on the month, both below what economists had penciled in. Stocks finished the session higher anyway, and the weekly tone stayed firmly positive. A softer read on hiring and pay is the kind of figure that keeps the rate outlook in the foreground for equity investors.

The calendar centers on inflation next week. The July Consumer Price Index is due Wednesday, with existing-home sales arriving earlier in the week and a handful of large-cap earnings reports still on the schedule. How those figures land against expectations tends to move the tape more than the headline number alone.

For the week of August 3, the gains were broad and led by technology. Small caps came along for the ride. After a stretch of narrow, top-heavy advances, this rally widened out.

This is a general-market summary for information only — not investment advice, and not a recommendation regarding any security.