Market Week: August 10, 2026

Stock Market Indexes

Chart reflects price changes, not total return. Because it
does not include dividends or splits, it should not be used to benchmark
performance of specific investments.

• Job growth has shown signs of waning this summer. Employment declined by 23,000 in July, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate dipped 0.1 percentage point to 4.1%. The change in employment for May was revised down by 66,000, from 129,000 to
  63,000, and the change for June was revised down by 37,000, from 57,000 to 20,000. With these
  revisions, employment in May and June combined was 103,000 lower than previously reported. In July, the number of unemployed people fell by 178,000 to 6.9 million. The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more)
  edged down by 166,000 last month to 1.8 million but has changed little over the year. The long-term unemployed
  accounted for 25.5% of all unemployed people in July. Last month, both the labor force participation rate and the employment-population ratio ticked down 0.1 percentage point to 61.4% and 58.9%, respectively. Since January, the labor force participation rate declined by
  0.7 percentage point, and the employment-population ratio decreased by 0.5 percentage point. In July, average hourly earnings, at $37.62, increased $0.02. Over the year, average hourly earnings have increased by 3.2%. The average workweek was unchanged at 34.3 hours in
  July.

• S&P Global reported that activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in July at the same pace as in the previous month. At a reading of 53.9, July’s rate of expansion was the slowest in the last four months. New orders slowed for the third straight month, as inflationary pressures weighed on demand, which dampened survey respondents’ confidence.

• Activity in the services sector accelerated in July, according to the latest report from S&P Global. The rise in services activity in July was the strongest in the last nine months, supported by the steepest increase in new work since November 2025. Survey respondents noted increased confidence in future activity, elevated by hopes of easing energy prices and geopolitical tensions, as well as projected business expansion. However, tariffs and energy-related price increases pushed overall input cost inflation to its highest level since May 2025, contributing to the sharpest rise in prices for services in the last 14 months. The S&P Global US Services PMI® Business Activity Index registered 54.6 in July, up from 51.2 in June.

• According to the latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary, the number of job openings was little changed at 7.4 million in June. Hires were unchanged at 5.3 million, while total separations changed little at 5.4 million.
  Within separations, quits (3.2 million) and layoffs and discharges (1.8 million) were unchanged.

• The latest report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis showed that the goods and services trade deficit was $73.3 billion in June, down $4.4 billion, or 5.6%, from $77.6 billion in May, (revised). June exports were $314.7 billion, $2.9 billion, or 0.9%, less than May exports. June imports were $388.0 billion, $7.3 billion, or 1.8%, less than May imports. Since the beginning of the year, the goods and services deficit decreased $189.3 billion, or 33.8%, from the same period in 2025. Exports increased $198.3 billion, or 11.7%. Imports increased $9.0 billion, or 0.4%.

• For the week ended August 1, there were 199,000 new claims
  for unemployment insurance, an increase of 1,000 from the previous week’s
  level, which was revised up by 1,000. According to the Department of Labor, the
  advance rate for insured unemployment claims for the week ended July 25 was
  1.2%, unchanged from the prior week’s rate. The advance number of those
  receiving unemployment insurance benefits during the week ended July 25 was
  1,801,000, an increase of 24,000 from the previous week’s level, which was
  revised down by 5,000. States and territories with the highest insured
  unemployment rates for the week ended July 18 were New Jersey (2.6%), Puerto Rico (2.6%), Rhode Island (2.3%), Massachusetts (2.1%), Minnesota (2.1%), Oregon (2.0%), California (1.9%), Washington (1.9%), Connecticut (1.7%), Nevada (1.7%), New York (1.7%), and Pennsylvania (1.7%). The largest increases in initial claims for unemployment insurance for
  the week ended July 25 were in Ohio (+629), Vermont (+347), Iowa (+111), Nevada (+64), and Maine (+49), while the largest decreases were in Michigan (-2,644), New York (-1,952), New Jersey (-1,377), Indiana (-1,340), and California (-1,313).
• The national average retail price for regular gasoline was
  $4.079 per gallon on August 3, $0.017 per gallon below the prior week’s price but
  $0.939 per gallon higher than a year ago. Also, as of August 3, the East Coast
  price decreased $0.053 to $3.944 per gallon; the Midwest price rose $0.047 to
  $3.929 per gallon; the Gulf Coast price fell $0.086 to $3.604 per gallon; the
  Rocky Mountain price increased $0.056 to $4.139 per gallon; and the West Coast
  price advanced $0.013 to $5.130 per gallon.

Inflation reports are on tap for this week with the July releases of the Consumer Price Index and the Producer Price Index. Also available this week is the latest report on retail sales.

Data sources: Economic: Based on data from U.S. Bureau
of Labor Statistics (unemployment, inflation); U.S. Department of Commerce
(GDP, corporate profits, retail sales, housing); S&P/Case-Shiller 20-City
Composite Index (home prices); Institute for Supply Management
(manufacturing/services). Performance: Based on data reported in WSJ Market
Data Center (indexes); U.S. Treasury (Treasury yields); U.S. Energy Information
Administration/Bloomberg.com Market Data (oil spot price, WTI, Cushing, OK);
www.goldprice.org (spot gold/silver); Oanda/FX Street (currency exchange
rates).

News items are based on reports from multiple commonly
available international news sources (i.e., wire services) and are
independently verified when necessary with secondary sources such as government
agencies, corporate press releases, or trade organizations. All information is
based on sources deemed reliable, but no warranty or guarantee is made as to
its accuracy or completeness. Neither the information nor any opinion expressed
herein constitutes a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any securities,
and should not be relied on as financial advice. Forecasts are based on current
conditions, subject to change, and may not come to pass. U.S. Treasury
securities are guaranteed by the federal government as to the timely payment of
principal and interest. The principal value of Treasury securities and other
bonds fluctuates with market conditions. Bonds are subject to inflation,
interest-rate, and credit risks. As interest rates rise, bond prices typically
fall. A bond sold or redeemed prior to maturity may be subject to loss. Past
performance is no guarantee of future results. All investing involves risk,
including the potential loss of principal, and there can be no guarantee that
any investing strategy will be successful.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is a
price-weighted index composed of 30 widely traded blue-chip U.S. common stocks.
The S&P 500 is a market-cap weighted index composed of the common stocks of
500 largest, publicly traded companies in leading industries of the U.S.
economy. The NASDAQ Composite Index is a market-value weighted index of all
common stocks listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange. The Russell 2000 is a
market-cap weighted index composed of 2,000 U.S. small-cap common stocks. The
Global Dow is an equally weighted index of 150 widely traded blue-chip common
stocks worldwide. The U.S. Dollar Index is a geometrically weighted index of
the value of the U.S. dollar relative to six foreign currencies. Market indexes
listed are unmanaged and are not available for direct investment.