US stocks opened lower on Thursday, August 20, as a rebound in Treasury yields and a rise in oil prices weighed on investor sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6% at the open, while the S&P 500 declined 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.5%, after all three major indexes ended higher in the previous session.
US stocks fell on Thursday after President Trump vowed to squeeze Iran economically, sending oil prices higher, while bond yields also rebounded after the US Treasury’s surprise move to intervene in the market.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell 0.6%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) slipped 0.3%.
The S&P 500 had a strong start to 2026. The index gained 10.2% on a total-return basis during the first half of 2026, putting it among a group of years when strong first-half gains were followed by generally positive second-half returns.
» Read more about: S&P 500 jumps 10.2% in first half of 2026: What history says could happen next »
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The VistaShares Target 15 Berkshire Select Income ETF (NYSEARCA:OMAH) was built on a simple promise: own a basket that mirrors Warren Buffett’s disclosed equity portfolio, write calls against it, and collect a targeted 15% annual income stream.
The Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index climbed 0.2% in July to 99.5, marking the fourth time in six months the gauge has ticked upward. More notably, the six-month growth rate turned positive for the first time in over four years, a milestone that suggests the US economy may finally be pulling out of a prolonged soft patch.
IWMI yields ~13% and IYRI ~11% by writing index options over small-cap and REIT exposure, reducing ordinary income taxes on monthly distributions.
NEOS funds use Section 1256 options contracts, automatically applying 60/40 long-term/short-term capital gains treatment instead of ordinary income rates.
» Read more about: These 3 ETFs Yield Up to 12 Percent and the IRS Barely Touches the Payouts »
If you’re on Social Security, there’s a big number you’re probably keeping an eye on — the 2027 cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA.
Earlier this year, Social Security benefits got a 2.8% COLA. And many people are hoping next year’s raise will be much more generous.
Image source: Getty Images.
A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., Aug. 19, 2026.
Jeenah Moon | Reuters
U.S. stocks 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.
US stock markets opened lower on August 20 as a brief reprieve in the bond market evaporated overnight, dragging equity indices back into the red. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq all declined at the open, reversing gains from the previous session that had been fueled by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s announcement of expanded buyback operations.
Cryptocurrency and blockchain-related stocks surged in premarket trading on Thursday after US President Donald Trump urged Congress to pass legislation establishing clear rules for the digital asset sector, following a White House meeting with industry executives.
Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, rose 3.4% and pushed through resistance levels that had held since early June,
