Portfolio

US close: Stocks give up gains after Warsh's hawkish comments

By Benjamin Chiou

Date: Friday 28 Aug 2026

(Sharecast News) - US stock markets erased earlier gains on Friday as hawkish comments from Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh pushed equity indices into the red.
The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq, which were trading marginally higher early on, finished down 0.02%, 0.25% and 0.52% respectively.

Speaking at the Jackson Hole Symposium in Wyoming, Warsh, who so far has remained tight-lipped about his views on the US economy, said inflation remains too high and hinted at possible rate hikes in the coming months if price pressures don't ease.

"It's the Fed's job to deliver stable prices, no excuses," he said. "We must be confident that underlying inflation is moving to our objective, clearly and at sufficient speed. Otherwise, we have work to do."

"For a Chair who does not want to give forward guidance, Warsh was very effective in raising the market-implied probability of a Fed rate hike in September," said analysts at Rabobank in a note.



"We still think that the FOMC is more likely to remain on hold for the remainder of the year, but the upside risks to our forecasts have clearly rebounded."

In economic data, the Chicago business barometer dropped sharply in August, sliding to 47.1 from 57.6 in July and missing expectations for a reading above 58, signalling the steepest contraction in activity since December 2025. The index's fall pushed it back below the 50‑point threshold after three months of expansion.

Meanwhile, US consumer sentiment weakened in August, according to the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index, with this month's final reading confirming a roughly 6% month‑on‑month decline and leaving the index about 11% below year‑earlier levels. The University of Michigan said concerns that inflation will remain elevated continued to weigh on households.

In company news, Marvell Technology posted another strong quarter, with second‑quarter revenues jumping 37% to beat analysts' expectations as demand for its data‑centre chips continued to accelerate. However, the stock dropped over 10% after the chipmaker's FY28 outlook underwhelmed,

Workday's share price surged after the enterprise software giant's second-quarter results beat analysts' predictions, while sector peer Salesforce continued to rally after smashing estimates the previous session.



Dow Jones - Risers

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $513.53 3.72%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $39.60 3.02%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $319.70 2.91%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $265.00 1.90%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $256.00 1.57%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $50.10 1.36%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $108.10 1.20%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $201.86 1.05%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $357.62 0.96%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $268.04 0.85%

Dow Jones - Fallers

3M Co. (MMM) $174.34 -2.51%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $109.93 -2.19%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $800.25 -2.05%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $89.47 -1.55%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $235.59 -1.34%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $148.35 -0.80%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $1,033.99 -0.66%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $392.95 -0.53%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $432.42 -0.44%
American Express Co. (AXP) $333.20 -0.29%

S&P 500 - Risers

Gap Inc. (GAP) $23.48 12.94%
FMC Corp. (FMC) $11.33 6.29%
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $358.06 5.45%
Apache Corp. (APA) $42.54 4.34%
Gen Digital Inc. (GEN) $31.02 4.30%
Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB) $57.33 4.22%
Sba Communications Corp. (SBAC) $190.95 3.78%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $513.53 3.72%
Whirlpool Corp. (WHR) $41.15 3.52%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $266.43 3.46%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $53.66 -13.62%
Coterra Energy Inc. (CTRA) $32.56 -8.62%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $301.90 -5.24%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $215.59 -5.03%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $175.54 -4.97%
Edison International (EIX) $70.17 -4.76%
Equinix, Inc. (EQIX) $1,044.41 -4.32%
Iron Mountain Inc (New) (IRM) $117.40 -4.31%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $461.67 -3.90%
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) $52.31 -3.86%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Intuit Inc. (INTU) $358.06 5.45%
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $138.32 5.10%
Gen Digital Inc. (GEN) $31.02 4.30%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $513.53 3.72%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $266.43 3.46%
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $204.72 3.26%
Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $25.70 3.09%
Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $291.52 2.98%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $319.70 2.91%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $105.62 2.66%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $53.66 -13.62%
Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $0.34 -13.49%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $301.90 -5.24%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $215.59 -5.03%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $175.54 -4.97%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $461.67 -3.90%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $517.50 -3.28%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $217.55 -3.23%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $228.55 -2.93%
Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $361.78 -2.57%

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