This content was published on <\/p>\n
August 15, 2025 – 22:17\n<\/p>\n
(Bloomberg) \u2014 Wall Street traders sent stocks down from all-time highs as data showed mixed indications on how American consumers are feeling about the economy. Investors also kept a close eye on a face-to-face meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.<\/p>\n
Following a surge from its April lows, the S&P 500 fell. Applied Materials Inc. led losses in chipmakers on a disappointing outlook. UnitedHealth Group Inc. soared as prominent funds piled into the insurer. Solar shares rallied. Longer-dated Treasuries underperformed. The dollar and oil retreated.<\/p>\n
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Trump greeted his Russian counterpart with a handshake in Alaska as they kicked off a highly anticipated summit, with the US leader looking to secure an end to the war in Ukraine. A joint press conference was planned for after their meeting.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile we cannot predict the outcome of the Alaska summit, we are on watch for potential disruptors as the trading environment, in our opinion, remains very sensitive to headline risk,\u201d said Dan Wantrobski at Janney Montgomery Scott.<\/p>\n
Before that, economic data showed a broad-based advance in US retail sales, boosted by car sales and major online promotions. Later, a separate report showed consumer sentiment unexpectedly fell for the first time since April and inflation expectations rose.<\/p>\n
\u201cConsumers are no longer bracing for the worst-case scenario for the economy feared in April,\u201d said Peter Boockvar, author of The Boock Report. \u201cHowever, consumers continue to expect both inflation and unemployment to deteriorate in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
To Bill Adams at Comerica Bank, while the data don\u2019t all point in the same direction, the US economy looks to be in OK shape.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat consumers do is more important to the economy than what they say,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
At eToro, Bret Kenwell says July\u2019s retail sales figures weren\u2019t necessarily a blowout. However, control group sales \u2014 which are used in the gross domestic product calculation \u2014 topped economists\u2019 expectations, while June\u2019s already strong report was revised even higher.<\/p>\n
Retailers will start reporting earnings next week, which should provide more insights into consumer behavior, he noted.<\/p>\n
As long as consumer spending holds up and companies are able to retain workers because of that robust spending, the flywheel can continue to spin, according to Chris Zaccarelli at Northlight Asset Management.<\/p>\n
And that would push both corporate profits and stocks higher, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile the consumer appears relatively healthy, the Fed is in a tough spot with its dual mandate of maximum employment and stable prices,\u201d said Kenwell at eToro. \u201cIf they opt to cut rates as the market currently expects, that could be another benefit for consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Attention will soon turn to next week\u2019s central bank gathering in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, with traders getting ready for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell\u2019s speech.<\/p>\n
Markets are still wholly convinced that officials will cut rates by 25 basis points in September \u2014 and follow that up with at least one other cut in October or December, noted Paul Ashworth at Capital Economics. He says Powell will possibly caution that a modestly restrictive policy stance remains appropriate.<\/p>\n
At Bank of America Corp., strategists led by Michael Hartnett say US stocks are set to decline in the event of dovish signals from the Fed in Jackson Hole as investors \u201cbuy rumor, sell fact.\u201d<\/p>\n
Investors poured about $21 billion into US equity funds in the week through Aug. 13, after redeeming nearly $28 billion in the week prior, according to a BofA note citing EPFR Global data.<\/p>\n
Retail investors are increasingly validated in the buy-the-dip approach, given the speed of the recovery from the recent selloff, potentially creating a self-fulfilling prophecy the next time the market experiences a minor selloff, according to Mark Hackett at Nationwide.<\/p>\n
\u201cDespite this well-established trend, there are few signs of excess or complacency, as many investors remain skeptical of the rally despite the market returning double-digits to date this year,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Corporate Highlights:<\/p>\n
The Trump administration is considering using funds from the US Chips Act to take a stake in Intel Corp., according to people familiar with the discussions, part of efforts to rescue the embattled chipmaker and shore up domestic semiconductor manufacturing Clean energy stocks soared after the Trump administration released new guidance on eligibility requirements for tax credits that weren\u2019t as punitive as the industry had feared. Opendoor Technologies Inc., a real estate company that became a meme stock in recent months, said Chief Executive Officer Carrie Wheeler is stepping down immediately, an announcement that sent the stock surging. UnitedHealth Group Inc. jumped after funds piled into the company, which has been hampered by a federal probe into its business practices and weakening results. Warren Buffett\u2019s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. was among the investors, buying 5 million shares in the second quarter, according to a filing. David Tepper\u2019s Appaloosa Management LP also invested, boosting its holdings of the health insurance giant by 2.3 million shares. Gilead Sciences Inc. Chief Executive Officer Daniel O\u2019Day said the company\u2019s new HIV prevention drug Yeztugo should be able to gain favorable insurance coverage despite questions about how the Trump administration will handle recommendations for treatments like this. Swiss chocolatier Lindt & Spruengli AG may shift production of its world-famous, gold-wrapped Easter bunnies to the US to sidestep import tariffs. Danish jewelry company Pandora A\/S is weighing potential price increases in the US and elsewhere due to higher tariffs, according to its chief executive officer. Some of the moves in markets:<\/p>\n
Stocks<\/p>\n
The S&P 500 fell 0.3% as of 4 p.m. New York time The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.5% The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed The MSCI World Index was little changed Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Total Return Index fell 0.3% Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index fell 2.3% The Russell 2000 Index fell 0.6% Currencies<\/p>\n
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2% The euro rose 0.5% to $1.1701 The British pound rose 0.2% to $1.3555 The Japanese yen rose 0.4% to 147.23 per dollar Cryptocurrencies<\/p>\n
Bitcoin fell 0.8% to $116,986.8 Ether fell 3.4% to $4,384.76 Bonds<\/p>\n
The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced three basis points to 4.32% Germany\u2019s 10-year yield advanced eight basis points to 2.79% Britain\u2019s 10-year yield advanced six basis points to 4.70% The yield on 2-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 3.75% The yield on 30-year Treasuries advanced five basis points to 4.92% Commodities<\/p>\n
West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.3% to $63.12 a barrel Spot gold rose 0.1% to $3,339.15 an ounce \u00a92025 Bloomberg L.P.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This content was published on August 15, 2025 – 22:17 (Bloomberg) \u2014 Wall Street traders sent stocks down…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":718,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[175],"tags":[989,79,990,991,18,19,17,188,992,993],"class_list":{"0":"post-717","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-markets","8":"tag-bonds","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-business-general","11":"tag-currency-values","12":"tag-eire","13":"tag-ie","14":"tag-ireland","15":"tag-markets","16":"tag-stocks","17":"tag-ticker"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/717","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=717"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/717\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}