Global Weekly Equities Report - August 28, 2026

Global Equities: The U.S. Market

One Sector Carried the Index as Warsh Repriced the Front End

U.S. equities advanced on the narrowest breadth of the year. The Nasdaq gained 1.63% to 26,402.42, the S&P 5000.77% to 7,711.76 and the Dow 0.27% to 53,559.99, while MSCI World added 0.57%. Only two of eleven sectorsfinished higher. The VIX fell 8.96% to 14.43, its lowest close in weeks. Beneath that calm the two-year Treasury yield rose from 4.24% to 4.34% while the thirty-year fell from 5.27% to 5.22% — an 11 basis point flattening of thetwo-to-ten spread to 39 basis points.

Nvidia Carried Technology; Nothing Else Participated

Nvidia reported 96.2 billion dollars of revenue, up 106% year on year, with gross margin of 75.0% and earnings of2.22 dollars against 1.05 a year earlier. The stock rose 8.7% on Thursday and Information Technology gained3.13% on the week, 2.36 percentage points ahead of the index. Communication Services was the only othersector to finish higher, at 0.60%. That is the entire advance. Nine sectors fell, and the spread between the bestand worst — Information Technology at +3.13% against Consumer Staples at -2.29% — is 5.42 percentage points in aweek the index moved 0.77%. Breadth this narrow is a feature of markets paying for one specific earnings streamrather than for an improving economy.

Defensives Fell Because the Risk-Free Rate Rose

Consumer Staples lost 2.29%, Health Care 2.03% and Real Estate 1.88% — the three worst sectors, and the threewith the least earnings growth to set against a higher discount rate. Utilities fell 1.13% and Financials 0.21%.Energy's 0.68% decline came from a different source: crude fell roughly 3.7% and gold 3.21% to 4,455 dollars,both consistent with a firmer dollar as the front end repriced. Last week's report argued gold was the hedge ofchoice against fiscal risk. A hawkish Fed is the one configuration in which that hedge does not work, and it didnot.