US Close, 27 August 2026: S&P 500 +0.72% to 7,730.99, NVDA.US +8.74% and OKTA.US +28.63%
S&P 500 close: 7,730.99 (+0.72%) Breadth: 82 advancers / 167 decliners across the 250 largest US listings Sentiment: mixed
The S&P 500 closed at 7,730.99 on 27 August 2026, up 55.29 points or 0.72%, on a gain confined almost entirely to technology after Nvidia and four enterprise software vendors reported the previous evening. OKTA.US rose 28.63% to $172.91 after fiscal Q2 revenue of $805 million and adjusted earnings of $1.05 a share cleared consensus, with management raising its outlook on agentic AI demand. Ten of the eleven S&P sector funds finished lower, and the equal-weight S&P 500 fell 0.30% while the cap-weighted index gained.
What moved the index
- NVDA.US +8.74% to $227.98 was worth roughly 57 of the 72 basis point index gain on its 6.5% index weight. Fiscal Q2 revenue landed at $96.2 billion, up 106% year over year, with earnings of $2.22 a share and a fiscal 2028 growth forecast of 70%. That was its largest single-session gain since 9 April 2025.
- Software and cybersecurity added roughly 45 basis points on top of Nvidia. IGV, the expanded technology software fund, rose 7.74% and CIBR, the cybersecurity fund, 7.61%. CRM.US +22.58%, CRWD.US +20.50%, PANW.US +12.83%, NOW.US +10.04%, FTNT.US +9.67% and ADBE.US +5.73% supplied most of it, with AVGO.US +4.49% and MSFT.US +1.75% adding the rest.
- Consumer staples XLP -1.38% and health care XLV -1.13% fronted ten declining sectors that gave back roughly 30 basis points between them. Consumer discretionary XLY -1.09% and communication services XLC -1.07% sat alongside, and AMZN.US -1.54%, COST.US -2.24%, MCD.US -2.57% and MRK.US -2.33% carried the heaviest weights inside that group.
The three sum to the 72 basis point move: 57 from one stock, 45 from the rest of technology, 30 given back by the other ten sectors. What is left sits in the long tail outside the largest 250 names, where the median move was -0.53%.
Session highlights
- 82 of the 250 largest US listings rose and 167 fell, close to one advancer for every two decliners.
- RSP, the equal-weight S&P 500 fund, fell 0.30% against SPY +0.66%. That 96 basis point gap separates the average member from the index.
- The Dow added 105.56 points to 53,569.44 while 24 of its 30 members fell. CRM.US contributed about 285 points by itself and NVDA.US another 113, against roughly 403 points of drag from the decliners.
- Nasdaq Composite +1.57% to 26,541.35 against the Dow +0.20%, a spread of 137 basis points between the technology-weighted index and the price-weighted one.
- SMH, the semiconductor fund, rose 3.10% while AMD.US fell 0.89% and MU.US 0.32%. The chip gain stayed inside Nvidia. Washington weighed a fresh round of semiconductor tariffs reported Thursday.
- ^VIX closed at 14.51, down 4.60%, with the 10-year Treasury yield at 4.672% and the dollar index at 99.14, unchanged on the session.
Sector scorecard
- Best: Technology XLK +3.16%
- Worst: Consumer Staples XLP -1.38%
- Dispersion (best minus worst): 4.54 points
- One of eleven sector funds finished higher. Energy XLE -0.22% was the shallowest decline, while health care XLV -1.13%, discretionary XLY -1.09% and communication services XLC -1.07% clustered with staples at the bottom.
Top movers
| Ticker | Move | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| OKTA.US | +28.63% | Revenue $805 million, EPS $1.05, outlook raised |
| CRM.US | +22.58% | EPS $5.90 against $3.27; Agentforce ARR $3.9 billion, +210% |
| CRWD.US | +20.50% | Revenue $1.47 billion, up 26%; largest one-day gain on record |
| VEEV.US | +15.20% | EPS $2.35 against $2.22; FY27 revenue guide lifted to $3.68 billion |
| SNPS.US | +13.39% | FQ3 above the high end; FY26 revenue guide $9.69 to $9.74 billion |
| HQY.US | -10.56% | EPS $1.24 beat, FY guide raised, 48% adjusted EBITDA margin, fell on the print |
| HRL.US | -10.25% | FQ3 EPS $0.37 beat on organic sales down 2% |
| PAY.US | -9.69% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven |
| P.US | -8.87% | Fiscal Q2 margin and negative free cash flow |
| BURL.US | -7.64% | Q3 EPS guide $1.60 to $1.70 against $2.03 consensus |
After-hours earnings
- ULTA.US reported fiscal Q2 adjusted earnings of $6.55 a share against $6.17 consensus, revenue up 8.9% to $3.04 billion, and raised full-year earnings guidance to a range of $28.70 to $29.00. Shares traded about 2% higher after the bell. The stock closed the regular session at $540.10, down 0.57%.
- MRVL.US closed the regular session at $241.45, down 1.49%, then posted fiscal Q2 earnings of $0.94 a share on revenue of $2.74 billion, up 37% year over year. Guidance put fiscal Q3 revenue at $3.15 billion against $3.04 billion consensus. Shares eased after the bell on margin questions despite the beat.
Notable announcements
- MRNA.US -4.60% after announcing a $2.0 billion convertible notes offering.
- BBY.US -4.44% on adjusted earnings of $1.47 a share against $1.38 consensus and sales up 3.6% to $9.78 billion, with management describing customers hunting for deals.
- SFM.US -6.67% on Q2 revenue of $2.32 billion that missed by 0.4%, with comparable sales down 1%.
- CELH.US -6.36% following a Deutsche Bank downgrade to Hold from Buy.
- WEN.US -13.55% after Trian abandoned its take-private bid.
Next session catalysts (ET)
- Fri 10:00: Fed Chair Kevin Warsh delivers the Jackson Hole keynote, his first major address since taking the chair in May 2026.
- Fri, after the close: DELL.US reports fiscal Q2, with consensus at $4.95 a share on revenue of $45.25 billion.
- Sat 29 Aug: the Kansas City Fed symposium at Jackson Hole concludes.
July PCE inflation held at 3.7% year on year against a 3.6% forecast, with core PCE at 3.3%. Three regional presidents dissented in favour of a hike at the July FOMC, and futures price roughly one-in-three odds of a September increase.
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