Markets News, Aug. 6, 2026: Dow’s Winning Streak Ends as Major Indexes Close Lower; Oil Rises as Investors Await Strait of Hormuz News

Markets News, Aug. 6, 2026: Dow’s Winning Streak Ends as Major Indexes Close Lower; Oil Rises as Investors Await Strait of Hormuz News

Aaron Rennie

Thu, August 6, 2026 at 1:37 PM GMT+3 12 min read

The Dow shed more than 450 points, ending a five-session winning streak, as the leading U.S. stock indexes all ended the day lower.

The Dow industrials, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite finished Thursday a respective 0.9%, 0.2%, and 0.1% lower, with the Dow's run of three straight record-high closes came to an end.

Several technology stocks sank after the companies reported quarterly results, with Honeywell Aerospace (HONA) retreating 23%; AppLovin (APP) 20%; Datadog (DDOG) 19%; Western Digital (WDC) 13%; and Sandisk (SNDK) 7%, respectively. The Magnificent Seven mega-cap tech firms ended mixed, with a 2.5% gain by Microsoft (MSFT) the biggest move in either direction.

Shares of SpaceX (SPCX) rebounded 6% after plunging nearly 14% yesterday as investors digested the Elon Musk-led company's first results as a public company. About 911 million shares of SpaceX stock—roughly $100 billion worth—were released Thursday from trading restrictions.

The 10-year Treasury yield, which influences interest rates on a variety of consumer loans including mortgages, was around 4.68%, up six basis points from Wednesday's close. The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the value of the greenback against a basket of foreign currencies, rose 0.3% to 99.97.

Oil prices gained as investors awaited word on a potential agreement between the U.S. and Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures rose 3.7% to $78 a barrel around 4 p.m. ET, while global benchmark Brent crude futures advanced 4.7% to $83.20.

Bitcoin was trading around $64,400, down slightly over the past 24 hours. Gold futures were down 0.2% to $4,295 an ounce.

Investors' attention tomorrow will turn to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' release of the July employment report. Economists expect it to show U.S. employers added 83,000 jobs in July, up from 57,000 in June.

AUGUST 6, 2026 AT 07:17 PM GMT

Only 3 Dow Components Have Risen 1% Today

It's been a tough day for the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

A mere nine Dow components are in positive territory in the final hour of trading, and just three—Disney (DIS), Microsoft (MSFT), and Chevron (CVX)—are up as little as 1%.

Salesforce (CRM), down nearly 4%, is the biggest decliner in the blue-chip index.

AUGUST 6, 2026 AT 05:46 PM GMT

Fox Stock Pops as World Cup Powers Results

Advertising revenue from the 2026 FIFA World Cup greatly aided Fox Corporation's fiscal fourth-quarter results.

Fox (FOXA) ranked among the top gainers in the S&P 500 Thursday, with shares up 5.5%, after the media company reported better-than-expected profit and revenue.

Fox posted adjusted earnings of $1.79 per share on revenue that increased 28% year-over-year to $4.21 billion. Analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha had expected $1.39 per share and $3.65 billion, respectively.

Advertising revenue soared 78% in the quarter, primarily because of the global soccer event, Fox said.

Despite today's surge, Fox shares remain about 15% lower since the start of the year.

AUGUST 6, 2026 AT 05:07 PM GMT

Just 2 of 11 S&P 500 Sectors in Green Today

The S&P 500 Energy and Information Technology Sectors are up today. That's the good news.

Unfortunately for investors, the other nine industries tracked by the S&P 500 are in the red, and the benchmark index is down 0.2% overall.

Energy is up 1% and Information Technology is 0.3% higher, but the other nine sectors are down between 0.4% and 1%.

AUGUST 6, 2026 AT 04:11 PM GMT

AppLovin Stock Plummets to Lowest Level in Over a Year on Weak Revenue, Outlook

AppLovin stock is tumbling after the ad technology firm's sales and outlook disappointed.

AppLovin (APP) shares were down 20% in recent trading to their lowest point in over a year. The company said yesterday that it earned $3.76 per share on $1.92 billion in revenue in the second quarter, slightly below the EPS of $3.77 on $1.95 billion in revenue analysts had forecast, per Visible Alpha estimates.

The company, which largely makes money by helping companies monetize apps with AI software placing ads in mobile games, said it expects third-quarter revenue to come in between $2.055 billion and $2.085 billion. Analysts had been looking for $2.083 billion.

William Blair analysts said the "modest" revenue miss and soft guidance could leave some investors concerned "whether AppLovin experienced a fundamental slowdown or simply encountered timing-related volatility in its model development cycle." Still, they maintained their "outperform" rating for the shares, citing AppLovin's growing market share, among other factors.

Bank of America analysts reiterated a "buy" rating, but slashed their price target to $430 from $705, citing lower expectations for AppLovin's consumer ad segment, and slower-than-expected growth in gaming advertising.

With Thursday's tumble, AppLovin shares have lost roughly half their value since the start of the year.

-Aaron McDade

AUGUST 6, 2026 AT 03:21 PM GMT

SpaceX Stock Rises on 'Lockup Day'

Shares of SpaceX are getting a bounce this morning.

SpaceX (SPCX) stock was recently up more than 2%, moving higher after a dramatic Wednesday drop and a close that managed a record low by a few cents. Yesterday's decline unwound a day-earlier rise that came ahead of the company's first earnings report since its mid-June IPO.

Selling driven by concerns about SpaceX's spending on its AI business and about the effect the expiration of lock-up agreements that have so far limited some investors' ability to sell shares could have on supply has weighed on the stock this week. (Investopedia has a detailed look at the latter topic here.)

Today's relative buoyancy may suggest that traders sold ahead of the lock-up date. Still, while Wall Street analysts are broadly bullish, many investors expect pressure on SpaceX stock to remain in force even if there's reason to buy into the long-term story.

That said, Vanda Research in a Wednesday note suggested that retail investors, who have continued to be net buyers of the shares, are more interested in the opportunity than the risks.

"This tells us that under the hood, the typical 'retail' investor has not gone away," Vanda wrote. "The average retail investor is not known for chasing quarterly earnings misses or beats – they are looking for opportunities to buy companies they believe could become the next '10-baggers.'SPCX happens to be one of those names for retail right now."

–David Marino-Nachison

AUGUST 6, 2026 AT 03:12 PM GMT

Moderna Gets FDA Approval of mRNA Flu Vaccine

Drugmaker Moderna (MRNA) announced that it has received Food and Drug Administration approval for mFLUSIVA, its vaccine against the flu that is based on the same mRNA technology that was used in developing the COVID-19 vaccine.

The new flu shot will be available at certain retailers in the coming weeks, the company said.

The vaccine is Moderna's fifth product approved globally as it has worked to get more products to market after demand for the COVID vaccine fell off.

Moderna shares rose in premarket trading in the news but recently were trading about 1.5% lower. Still, the stock is up 88% since the start of the year, albeit nearly 90% below its August 2021 peak.

-Aaron McDade

AUGUST 6, 2026 AT 02:42 PM GMT

Bond Traders Want a Signal—Warsh Is Sending Them Static.

Kevin Warsh watched the bond market punish him for saying too little, and his answer is to keep on not saying it.

The Financial Times reported Thursday that the Fed chair plans to stick with his stripped-down communications style after last week's policy meeting touched off a rout in long-dated Treasurys. People close to Warsh told the paper he owns some early missteps—failing to reinforce his price-stability message, blurring whether his longer-term overhaul of the Fed touches near-term rate decisions—but doesn't see a case for reversing his minimalist approach.

After Warsh's second press conference as Fed chair, bond vigilantes were out in force. The 30-year Treasury yield climbed above 5.2% after the July 29 meeting, its highest since 2007, and closed near 5.17% Wednesday. The Fed's preferred inflation gauge, the personal consumption expenditures price index, ran at 3.7% in June, and the central bank has missed its 2% inflation target for more than five years.

Warsh's wager is that inflation expectations matter more than Fed commentary. Still, the market is reacting either way. Futures put the odds of a quarter-point increase at the Sept. 15–16 meeting near 55%, and people familiar with Warsh's thinking said he'd raise rates if the coming inflation readings run hot.

-Peter Gratton

AUGUST 6, 2026 AT 12:55 PM GMT

Western Digital and Sandisk Both Topped Wall Street's Estimates. The Stocks Are Tumbling Anyway

Two of the year's hottest stocks are taking a hit today.

Shares of Sandisk (SNDK) and Western Digital (WDC) were down 10% and 15%, respectively, in premarket trading despite quarterly sales and profits that topped Wall Street estimates. Investors may have wanted more, particularly from Sandisk's outlook, after the strong start to the year for memory and data storage firms.

Sandisk said it now expects first-quarter revenue of $10.3 billion to $10.8 billion with adjusted earnings per share of $44 to $46, with the midpoints of each range falling short of the adjusted EPS of $45.34 on $11.15 billion in revenue that analysts called for. Western Digital's forecast of $3.85 to $4.15 in EPS on $4 billion to $4.2 billion in revenue came in ahead of analysts' projections.

Sandisk reported $8.97 billion in revenue for its fiscal fourth quarter, along with adjusted earnings of $39.25, each handily topping the analyst consensus. Western Digital's $3.75 billion in sales and adjusted EPS of $3.56 also beat estimates, but by a narrower margin.

Analysts have been bullish on Sandisk and Western Digital's prospects this year, as the memory and data storage industries have seen demand soar with big tech companies spending billions of dollars on AI hardware. That demand has created shortages, allowing Sandisk and others to raise prices to record highs, boosting sales and profits.

Even with their recent slide, both stocks have remained some of the S&P 500's biggest gainers for the year. Shares of Western Digital were up 200% year-to-date through Wednesday's close, while Sandisk surged 470%.

-Aaron McDade

AUGUST 6, 2026 AT 12:34 PM GMT

Honeywell Aerospace Stock Plunges on Weak Outlook

Shares of Honeywell Aerospace (HONA) fell after the former Honeywell (HON) division disappointed in its first earnings report since being spun off back in June.

The aerospace parts manufacturer said after the bell yesterday that it earned an adjusted $1.87 on $4.52 billion in sales in its second quarter, each falling short of the Visible Alpha consensus.

The company also trimmed its full-year outlook, now aiming for organic sales growth of 4% to 5%, down from 7% to 9% previously.

CEO Jim Currier said the company believes "it is prudent to align our guidance to our supply chain's demonstrated capabilities."

Honeywell Aerospace shares were down 17% recently, on track to hit a record low.

-Aaron McDade

AUGUST 6, 2026 AT 11:38 AM GMT

Here's What To Expect From Friday's Jobs Report

The labor market likely stayed stable in July, if economists' forecasts prove true later this week.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics is scheduled to release the July employment report on Friday, and economists expect it to show U.S. employers added 83,000 jobs in July, according to a survey of economists by Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. That's an improvement over the previous month, when the economy added 57,000 jobs.

Economists expect the unemployment rate to remain at 4.2% for the second month in a row. Despite the volatility in the number of jobs available, the unemployment rate has remained relatively steady, averaging 4.3% over the past year. Economists say that stability reflects fewer people entering the job market.

"Tepid labor demand has been accompanied by slower labor supply growth, helping to keep the labor market in balance," wrote a group of economists at Wells Fargo.

Read the full article here.

-Taylor Tompkins

AUGUST 6, 2026 AT 11:15 AM GMT

It's SpaceX Lock-Up Day. Here's What to Know With Millions of Shares Now Eligible to Trade

Shares of SpaceX fell yesterday after the company reported its first-ever quarterly results. Some expect them to fall even further Thursday.

Why do they think that? Because that's when about 911 million shares of SpaceX (SPCX) stock—about $98 billion worth at recent prices—will be released from trading restrictions, which expire two days after the company's first earnings report as a publicly traded entity.

Such events, called lock-up expirations, follow initial public offerings and tend to have a negative effect on the stocks with which they're associated because they give early investors an opportunity to sell their shares, often for the first time.1

The expirations come at an inauspicious time: Shares of SpaceX as of yesterday's close are off about 20% from their IPO price and 52% below their post-IPO peak. Some observers think further pressure is inevitable. But experts suggest that investors think carefully about what the end of SpaceX lock-ups will mean in practice. Here are some of the topics they flagged to Investopedia.

Read the full article here.

-Crystal Kim

AUGUST 6, 2026 AT 10:37 AM GMT

Stock Futures Mixed After Dow Closes at Record High for 3rd Straight Day

Futures contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average pointed up 0.3%.

S&P 500 futures rose 0.2%.

Nasdaq 100 futures were down 0.3%.

Read the original article on Investopedia