Swingfolio Daily — US Markets
US briefings — Thursday, August 20, 2026
Pre-market setup and closing-bell recap for Thursday, August 20, 2026. Observations only — no trade advice.
Thursday, August 20, 2026
S&P 500 futures fall 0.53% as a Walmart comp miss and a 3.64% crude spike outweigh strong US data
S&P 500 futures traded 0.53% lower at 7,687.75 at 08:38 ET on 20 August 2026, with Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.79%. Walmart WMT.US fell 6.79% to $106.54 after second quarter US comparable sales grew 2.6% against a 3.5% consensus and third quarter revenue guidance of $185.6 billion landed 1.4% below estimates. WTI crude rose 3.64% to $87.46 after President Trump threatened Iran with economic isolation, lifting OXY.US 2.36% and XOM.US 1.83%. The US 10-year returned to 4.71% after the Philadelphia Fed index printed 47.4 against 25 expected and jobless claims fell to 206,000.
S&P 500 Falls 0.87% on 20 August 2026 as Yields Rebound and Walmart Drops 9.15%
The S&P 500 closed at 7,641.16 on 20 August 2026, down 0.87%, after Wednesday’s Treasury buyback relief faded and the 30-year yield returned to 5.24%. Walmart fell 9.15% on 2.6% US comparable sales against a 3.7% forecast. Health care and consumer discretionary led nine of eleven sectors lower, while bitcoin near US$72,789 lifted the listed crypto proxies and Ross Stores reported 10% comparable sales after the bell.