Stock market news for Aug. 19, 2026

The S&P 500 ended a three-day losing run on Wednesday as bond yields fell following the Treasury Department’s announcement of an increased buyback operation for longer-term debt.

The broad market index advanced 0.21% to close at 7,707.98, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.16% to 26,331.09. The 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average added 119.65 points, or 0.22%, and settled at 53,463.05.

The rally lost ground as the session went on. Earlier in the day, the Dow climbed more than 360 points, or 0.7% at its high of the session. The S&P 500 was up 0.7% at its peak, while the Nasdaq was higher by 0.6%.

Stocks’ initial jump came as yields on the long end of the Treasury curve slid after the Treasury Department said it’s going to at least double the size of its government debt repurchases. The increased buyback is aimed at the 10- to 30-year parts of the market. That’ll include the 20-year.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield — which notched a new 19-year high of above 5.33% in the prior trading day — declined more than 10 basis points to 5.184%. The 10-year Treasury note yield dropped more than 6 basis points to 4.637%.

Stocks viewed as beneficiaries of lower rates saw some gains. Lowe’s and Home Depot both gained around 2%.

“Value names, for example, are doing really well today, and that tells you that the economy and the corporate earnings cycle are still very strong,” said Massimo Santicchia, head of U.S. equities at Procyon. That said, there’s “a tension now in the market,” he added, noting that there are solid fundamentals on one hand and a higher cost of capital induced by higher yields on the other.

Overall, it’s still a “very, very good environment for stocks” because of the solid earnings outlook, Santicchia said.

Moderna more than doubled, soaring about 177% for its best day on record after an experimental skin cancer vaccine developed with Merck showed success in a late-stage trial. Merck shares jumped more than 12%, supporting the Dow.

Shares of Marvell Technology gained almost 10% after announcing an agreement with Google related to its tensor processing units and issuing Alphabet a warrant to buy up to $12.2 billion worth of Marvell common stock.

However, other tech stocks slid after The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources, that OpenAI disclosed second-quarter results that disappointed investors. While revenue expanded by 18% between the first and second quarter, losses grew as well. Broadcom declined more than 4%, and Advanced Micro Devices shed nearly 4%, while the iShares AI Innovation and Tech Active ETF (BAI) fell roughly 2%.

The major U.S. stock averages fell on Tuesday as sovereign bond yields around the globe hit multi-year highs partially due to concerns around inflation. Along with the 30-year Treasury yield’s fresh 19-year high, Japan’s 10-year bond yield reached its highest level in three decades. Rates on France’s 30-year bond reached the highest going back to 2008. The German 30-year bund yield hit its highest point since 2011.

If inflation doesn’t ease, Federal Reserve officials see the potential for higher rates, the latest meeting minutes showed Wednesday. At the July meeting, there were three dissenters voting to hike rates.