S&P 500 Falls 0.33% as Edison International Drops 23% on California Wildfire Bill
S&P 500 close: 7,686.14 (-0.33%) Breadth: 9 of 11 sectors lower Sentiment: mixed
The S&P 500 closed at 7,686.14 on 31 August 2026, down 0.33%, after a California wildfire bill left the state's two largest utilities fully liable for fire damages and took about a fifth off both. Energy rose 2.04% and covered part of the hole. Edison International EIX.US fell 23.07% to $53.98, its worst session since 2001. Crude climbed after the US struck Iranian rocket launchers near the Strait of Hormuz and Iran fired on US bases in Jordan.
What moved the index
- Communication Services -1.35% carried roughly 14 bps of the 33 bps index decline at about 10% weight. GOOGL.US fell 2.09% to $339.35, TTWO.US 6.67% to $219.70, PINS.US 6.38% to $21.71 and GENI.US 7.48%.
- Financials -0.67%, about 9 bps at roughly 13% weight, traced to a single deal. AON.US dropped 9.53% to $321.52 on a $17.0 billion all-cash agreement to buy USI Insurance Services from KKR, funded with debt and a buyback pause. Broker peers followed: AJG.US -2.02%, WTW.US -1.51%.
- Industrials -1.13% removed another 9 bps. HWM.US fell 7.51% to $244.95, KRMN.US 9.04% to $41.45, AXON.US 5.69% to $566.56 and HON.US 1.79%, with no single announcement behind the group.
- Technology +0.44% and Energy +2.04% added back about 21 bps between them, technology on its 34% weight and energy on a move three times larger at a tenth of the size. NVDA.US rose 1.48% to $220.78, CRWD.US 5.77% to $231.00, XOM.US 2.71% to $160.95 and SLB.US 4.83% to $60.10.
Those five sectors net to about 11 bps of decline, and the remaining six add roughly 18 bps, accounting for about 29 bps of the 33 bps move. The 4 bps residual is spread across the long tail.
Session highlights
- EIX.US -23.07% and PCG.US -20.06% after California's SB 492, introduced Saturday, omitted the liability shield investor-owned utilities had sought. Mizuho cut EIX.US to Neutral with a $70 target from $86, and BMO raised its estimated liability drag on PG&E to $10 per share from $6.
- Utilities outside California barely moved: D.US +0.70%, AEP.US +0.10%, DUK.US -0.28%, SO.US -0.28% and ED.US -0.44%. The 1.17% sector decline is three California-exposed names, with SRE.US -3.10% the only other decliner of size.
- TSLA.US +5.51% to $367.95 after Elon Musk posted over the weekend that SpaceX and Tesla are each building 100 gigawatts per year of solar production capacity, repricing Tesla's energy arm as a potential supplier to AI data centers.
- GS.US -0.78% to $1,025.90 removed $8.09 of price from the Dow, the largest single decline among the 30. Only six members closed higher, which is why the price-weighted Dow fell 0.70% to 53,185.90 against the S&P 500's 0.33%.
- COIN.US +5.31% to $188.12, BMNR.US +6.39%, GLXY.US +5.99% and MSTR.US +4.42%. Crypto-linked equities were the one group that rose while the index fell.
Sector scorecard
- Best: Energy +2.04%
- Worst: Communication Services -1.35%
- Dispersion (best minus worst): 3.39 pts
- Energy's gain ran through services as well as the majors, with OIH.US +2.60% and XOP.US +1.62% against CVX.US +2.12%.
Top movers
| Ticker | Move | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| EMAT.US | +18.20% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven. |
| STDN.US | +14.26% | Earnings call flagged a commercial milestone. |
| CRCL.US | +9.65% | Crypto-linked equities bid, COIN.US +5.31%. |
| CHA.US | +7.69% | Extends the move from 28 August Q2 results. |
| RBLX.US | +7.16% | Platform activity data pointed higher. |
| EIX.US | -23.07% | SB 492 omits the utility liability shield. |
| PCG.US | -20.06% | Same bill, BMO lifts liability drag to $10 a share. |
| MNSO.US | -9.97% | Q2 miss, overseas profit share down to 10-15%. |
| AON.US | -9.53% | $17.0B all-cash USI deal, buybacks suspended. |
| PSQL.US | -9.47% | Third session after its 28 August SPAC listing. |
After-hours earnings
No S&P 500 company reported after the close on 31 August, which is why the post-bell session passed without a single-name reaction worth naming. Reporting resumes Tuesday, and the macro calendar carries the week instead.
Notable announcements
- AON.US bought USI Insurance Services from KKR, its second private-equity-backed purchase in two years after the $13.4 billion NFP deal in 2024. Two large debt-funded acquisitions inside 24 months is what the 9.53% reaction is pricing.
- MNSO.US -9.97% to $9.30 extended its slide from 28 August Q2 results, where the profit contribution from international operations fell to 10-15% in the first half of 2026 from 35-40% in 2023. HSBC moved the stock to Hold with a $10.80 target.
- CRWD.US +5.77% to $231.00 continued the move from its 26 August quarter: adjusted EPS of 31 cents against 29 cents expected, revenue of $1.47 billion against $1.44 billion, annual recurring revenue up 25.4% to $5.84 billion, and FY27 revenue guidance raised to a $5.99 billion to $6.01 billion range.
- All four major indexes finished August higher: S&P 500 +2.62%, Nasdaq +3.93%, Dow +1.34% and Russell 2000 +0.86%.
Next session catalysts (ET)
- Tue 1 Sep 09:45: S&P Global US Manufacturing PMI, final reading
- Tue 1 Sep 10:00: ISM Manufacturing PMI for August, against a July print of 55.6
- Tue 1 Sep 10:00: JOLTS job openings and construction spending
- Fri 4 Sep 08:30: August nonfarm payrolls and the unemployment rate
- Wed 16 Sep 14:00: FOMC decision with an updated Summary of Economic Projections
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