Dow stocks hitting 52-week highs include Amgen (AMGN) 442.36 (+4.02%), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 273.41 (+0.85%) and Merck (MRK) 155.20 (12.60%). There were no Dow stocks hitting 52-week lows.

The Market

Premarket today, the Dow was indicated to be down -401 points.

Wednesday the Dow closed up +119.65 (+0.22%) at 53,463.05.

Year-to-date the Dow is up +11.23%.

Wednesday, (19) Dow stocks were up, none made 52-week lows, and (3) made 52-week highs.

The Dow stock winners Wednesday were led by Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 271.11 (+3.33%), Salesforce (CRM) 196.14 (+2.71%) and Nike (NKE) 40.06 (+2.48%).

The Dow stock losers Wednesday were led by Caterpillar (CAT) 840.87 (-4.63%), Nvidia (NVDA) 219.74 (-2.34%) and Sherwin Williams (SHW) 345.27 (-1.34%).

The VIX closed Wednesday at 14.89 (-6.00%) and the 10 YR at 4.648 (-1.27%). The VIX is currently at 15.80 (+6.11%). The 10YR is at 4.690 (+0.75%).

Stock futures fell on Thursday as Treasury yields reversed course from the decline seen in the prior trading day following the Treasury Department’s debt buyback announcement.

Also weighing on equities, oil prices rose again amid increasing tensions between Iran and the U.S. President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post late Wednesday that the U.S. would begin “most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country” against Iran. “This will be Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale,” he wrote. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 3% to above $88 per barrel, while global benchmark Brent crude futures moved up 3% to above $94 a barrel.

Factory activity in the Philadelphia area hit its highest level in more than five years during August, the regional Federal Reserve reported Thursday. The Philadelphia Fed’s manufacturing index jumped to 47.4, up 6 points from July and well ahead of the consensus forecast for 25. This was the highest reading since April 2021. The index measures the percentage difference between companies reporting expansion against contraction. The employment index surged to 27.9, up 18 points to its highest level since April 2022. At the same time, gauges for prices paid and received hit their lowest levels since February, just as the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran that sent inflation higher.

Bitcoin tops $71,000 to hit highest levels since June. Bitcoin rallied nearly 11% Wednesday and Thursday and sent the cryptocurrency above $71,000, as the coin reached its highest levels since June 1. The move higher came after President Donald Trump along with crypto executives and regulators at the White House made the case for passing the Clarity Act, a cryptocurrency market structure bill, through Congress on Wednesday.

Walmart (WMT) shares dropped more than 5% in premarket trading after the retail giant’s U.S. comparable sales and third-quarter adjusted EPS guidance fell short of consensus. For the second quarter, U.S. comparable sales rose 2.6%, below the gain of 3.5% which analysts had expected. Walmart’s third-quarter guidance for adjusted earnings per share was also between $0.62 and $0.64, while analysts had anticipated $0.68. Earnings per share guidance for the fiscal third quarter and full year were also below expectations.

Government debt has eclipsed $40 trillion, passing yet another staggering benchmark for red ink, according to the Treasury Department. The total U.S. IOU hit $40.05 trillion as of Tuesday, some four and a half years after topping $30 trillion. Years of escalating budget deficits, pushed higher by stimulus funding during the Covid pandemic, have seen the public share of the debt near 100%.

U.S. futures are lower, European stocks are lower and Asian markets ended mostly higher.

The national average price of gasoline is up +0.0184 at $4.1044 per gallon.

Earnings Reports

Nike (NKE) reported earnings on 6/30/26 after the market close with $0.72, beating estimates for $0.11 per share.

Goldman Sachs (GS) reported earnings on 7/14/26 before the market open with $20.98, beating estimates for $14.473 per share.

JPMorgan (JPM) reported earnings on 7/14/26 before the market open with $7.70, beating estimates for $5.591 per share.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) reported earnings on 7/15/26 before the market open with $2.90, beating estimates for $2.85 per share.

UnitedHealth (UNH) reported earnings on 7/16/26 before the market open with $6.38, beating estimates for $4.874 per share.

Travelers (TRV) reported earnings on 7/17/26 before the market open with $10.04, beating estimates for $5.207 per share.

3M (MMM) reported earnings on 7/21/26 before the market open with $2.40, beating estimates for $2.271 per share.

Alphabet (GOOG) reported earnings on 7/22/26 after the market close with $9.11, beating estimates for $2.87 per share.

IBM (IBM) reported earnings on 7/22/26 after the market close with $2.93, beating estimates for $2.271 per share.

Honeywell (HON) reported earnings on 7/23/26 before the market open with $4.52, meeting estimates for $2.93 per share.

American Express (AXP) reported earnings on 7/24/26 before the market open with $4.53, beating estimates for $4.407 per share.

Boeing (BA) reported earnings on 7/28/26 before the market open with -$0.76, missing estimates for -$0.338 per share.

Coca Cola (KO) reported earnings on 7/28/26 before the market open with $0.97, beating estimates for $0.92 per share.

Sherwin (SHW) reported earnings on 7/28/26 before the market open with $3.70, beating estimates for $3.52 per share.

Visa (V) reported earnings on 7/28/26 after the market close with $3.226, beating estimates for $3.32 per share.

Procter & Gamble (PG) reported earnings on 7/29/26 before the market open with $1.43, beating estimates for $1.413 per share.

Microsoft (MSFT) reported earnings on 7/29/26 after the market close with $4.74, beating estimates for $4.209 per share.

Amazon (AMZN) reported earnings on 7/30/26 after the market close with $1.826, beating estimates for $5.75 per share.

Apple (AAPL) reported earnings on 7/30/26 after the market close with $2.02, beating estimates for $1.884 per share.

Chevron (CVX) reported earnings on 7/31/26 before the market open with $6.06, beating estimates for $5.804 per share.

Caterpillar (CAT) reported earnings on 8/4/26 before the market open with $8.17, beating estimates for $6.245 per share.

McDonald’s (MCD) reported earnings on 8/4/26 before the market open with $3.38, beating estimates for $3.32 per share.

Amgen (AMGN) reported earnings on 8/4/26 after the market close with $6.29, beating estimates for $5.599 per share.

Merck (MRK) reported earnings on 8/4/26 before the market open with -$0.13, beating estimates for -$0.263 per share.

Disney (DIS) reported earnings on 8/5/26 before the market open with $2.06, beating estimates for $1.879 per share.

Cisco (CSCO) reported earnings on 8/12/26 after the market close with $1.22, beating estimates for $0.987 per share.

Home Depot (HD) reported earnings on 8/18/26 before the market open with $4.79, beating estimates for $4.58 per share.

Walmart (WMT) reported earnings on 8/20/26 before the market open with $0.81, beating estimates for $0.735 per share.

Nvidia (NVDA) reports earnings on 8/26/26 after the market close.

Salesforce (CRM) reports earnings on 8/26/26 after the market close.

Today’s Featured Dow Stock

Microsoft (MSFT)

Microsoft (MSFT) 484.31 (+0.56%) is up +0.14% in 2026.

Financial Calendar

08:30 AM ET Continuing Jobless Claims, 1,790K, 1,777K
08:30 AM ET Initial Jobless Claims, 210K, 209K
08:30 AM ET Jobless Claims 4-Week Avg., 199.00K
08:30 AM ET Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index (Aug), 24.1, 41.4
08:30 AM ET Philly Fed Business Conditions (Aug), 34.4
08:30 AM ET Philly Fed CAPEX Index (Aug), 30.10
08:30 AM ET Philly Fed Employment (Aug), 10.0
08:30 AM ET Philly Fed New Orders (Aug), 37.0
08:30 AM ET Philly Fed Prices Paid (Aug), 53.90
10:00 AM ET US Leading Index (MoM) (Jul), 0.1%, -0.2%
10:30 AM ET Natural Gas Storage, 15B, 36B
11:30 AM ET 4-Week Bill Auction, 3.625%
11:30 AM ET 8-Week Bill Auction, 3.665%
13:00 PM ET 30-Year TIPS Auction, 2.473%
16:30 PM ET Fed’s Balance Sheet, 6,760B
16:30 PM ET Reserve Balances with Federal Reserve Banks, 2.947T