Weekly recap: Tech slides 3.51% as yields and VIX rise

U.S. equities ended the August 17–21, 2026 week lower as technology and rate-sensitive groups retreated. The S&P 500 lost 1.43%, the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.05% and the Dow declined 0.85%. Health care moved the other way with a 4.33% gain, while Treasury yields and the VIX both finished above their August 14 levels.

The week in 5 points

1. The major indexes finished lower. From the August 14 close to August 21, the S&P 500 fell 1.43%, the Nasdaq Composite 2.05% and the Dow 0.85%.
2. Sector leadership changed sharply. Health care gained 4.33%, energy 2.76% and materials 1.87%. Technology lost 3.51%, utilities 3.50% and industrials 3.37%.
3. The July FOMC minutes showed a divided hold. Nine members voted to keep the federal-funds target at 3.50%–3.75%, while three preferred a 25-basis-point increase. Many participants said further tightening would likely be needed if inflation did not decline.
4. Growth data did not tell one simple story. The Empire State index rose to 20.6 and the Philadelphia Fed index to 47.4, while July industrial production and manufacturing output each grew 0.2%. Housing starts fell 12.4% to a 1.239 million annual rate even as permits rose 5.0% to 1.443 million.
5. Volatility rose, but dispersion was much wider. The VIX traded between 14.77 and 16.14 and closed at 15.13. Selected liquid tracked shares ranged from a 47.95% weekly gain to a 24.12% decline.

Sector scoreboard

Your tickers this week

These rows describe closing-price changes, not a complete explanation of why every buyer or seller acted. A weekly price move can reflect several overlapping forces, so the table does not assign one cause to every ticker.

Notable earnings

Next week

• Monday, August 24, and Tuesday, August 25: the current Nasdaq calendars list no earnings from the tracked universe; schedules can change.
• Wednesday, August 26 at 8:30 a.m. ET: BEA schedules the second estimate of second-quarter GDP and corporate profits, plus July personal income and outlays. NVIDIA is listed after the close.
• Thursday, August 27: Marvell Technology is listed after the close. The BLS schedules its 2025–2035 employment projections and 2023–2025 worker-displacement report for 10:00 a.m. ET.
• Friday, August 28 at 10:00 a.m. ET: the BLS schedules first-quarter county employment and wages plus preliminary March 2026 payroll benchmark releases.

The weekly picture combined lower broad indexes, a technology-led retreat, higher Treasury yields, firmer survey data, weaker housing starts and unusually wide single-stock moves. Those layers measure different risks and can change again when next week’s macro releases and large-cap technology earnings arrive. This recap is educational market information, not personalized financial advice or an instruction to trade.