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August rallies lifted stocks and Treasuries while silver surged

The Nasdaq Composite rose 4.0% and the S&P 500 gained 2.7% in August, while silver jumped 14.8%.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Fund Industry

U.S. and international equities rose in August despite renewed inflation and deficit concerns, ongoing geopolitical conflict, and a hawkish tone from Fed Chair Kevin Warsh at Jackson Hole, according to ETF Trends.

The Nasdaq Composite climbed 4.0% and the S&P 500 added 2.7%, marking each index’s first monthly advance since May. The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average also reached record highs during the month, and emerging-market and developed international stocks led higher, up 3.3% each, followed by US growth up 3.2%.

Fixed income was mixed, with municipal bonds down 0.2% while high yield credits rose 1.0% and investment grade corporate bonds gained 0.4%. The US Aggregate Bond Index increased 0.3% as short-term yields moved higher while longer-term yields declined, flattening the yield curve.

Commodities posted gains, with silver surging 14.8%, gold up 9.9%, broad-based commodities rising 7.4%, and crude oil climbing 3.5%. Warsh emphasized price stability and the Fed’s 2% inflation target, noting that recent summer readings were better but did not show underlying trends had meaningfully improved. He also said he would not provide forward guidance, arguing that pre-committing to a rate path would limit the Fed’s flexibility. Ahead of the September FOMC meeting, the CME FedWatch Tool assigned about a 70% probability to a hold before the speech.

Latest closeGold $4,376.80 ▼1.2%|Silver $64.72 ▼2.3%|WTI crude $90.79 ▲5.9%

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