Index Monthly Scorecard: August 2026

Download the PDF

Sep 10, 2026 10:12AM EDT

Written by Nasdaq Index Insights Team

AI Summary

Summarize with Google AI

Summarize in ChatGPT

Explore with Perplexity

Analyze with Claude

Get Insights via Grok

Nasdaq Monthly Index Performance Commentary – August 2026

•    The Nasdaq-100 Index® (NDX®) rebounded in August 2026 to finish higher by 4.2%.
•    As Q2 2026 earnings wind down, 85 out of 102 Nasdaq-100® companies representing 85% of the index by weight beat EPS expectations by an average of 11.2% with an index level growth rate of 78% as of August 31st.
•    The broadening of equity returns occurred against the backdrop of a strong earnings season and generally resilient U.S. economic data.
•    Nasdaq’s suite of indexes ended August with 106 out of 130 indexes tracked in our report posting gains and the average index up 5%.

Chart of the Month

^{Source: Bloomberg. Data as of August 31, 2026.}

Executive Summary

Softer Tier 1 U.S. economic data—July NFPs and retail sales—coupled with cooler-than-expected inflation—July CPI (core inflation was up just 2.5% year-over-year in July, the slowest since 2021), PPI, and PCE—had initially caused markets to largely price out a September Fed rate. However, following Fed Chair Warsh’s hawkish-tilting speech at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium at the end of August, the markets are back to pricing in a 65% chance of a hike in September and at least one rate hike by year’s end, according to Bloomberg. Markets have concurrently been focused on elevated Treasury yields on account of still sticky inflation given higher oil prices, a broadly resilient U.S. economy, lingering Fed policy uncertainties, and ongoing U.S. government fiscal concerns. This culminated in the Treasury announcing on August 19th that it will double the level of government debt buybacks in the next few months, to “at least” $4 billion, targeting the sensitive longer-duration segment of the market, according to Bloomberg. 10-year yields are now higher by around 10 basis points from when Secretary Bessent announced these measures and approaching 4.80%—highest since January 2025, according to Bloomberg.

A strong Q2 earnings season, coupled with the aforementioned initial tamping down of Fed rate hike angst, helped equities rebound in August. A developing theme since the June 2nd Nasdaq-100 highs has been the broadening of equity returns, as shown in the above Chart of the Month. While the PHLX Semiconductor Index rebounded slightly in August (+2%) after its largest monthly decline since December 2002 (-20.6% in July), the more cyclically and domestically geared areas of banks and small caps have outperformed since early June. In fact, the Nasdaq U.S. Small Cap Index (NQUSS) had its strongest year-to-date return through August—up by 17.7%— in the last 5 years (+26.3%). The relative performance of small-cap and cyclical indexes was consistent with broader market participation beyond mega-cap technology companies.

Nasdaq Indexes August 2026 Performance Recap

Among the 130 indexes tracked in this report, 106 finished August in positive territory, while 24 ended with negative returns. The best-performing index was the PHLX Gold/Silver Sector™ Index (XAU™), delivering a return of 32.4%. The weakest performance was from the Dorsey Wright Industrials Tech Leaders™ Index (DWIDX™), which declined 8.3% for the month. The average return across all 130 indexes was 5.0%.