Stocks go nowhere on laziest trading day since July 4 holiday

The start of the week was a relative snoozer, with the amount of money changing hands across US exchanges the lowest since the holiday-shortened session on July 3.

Your Evening Briefing August 18, 2025 Stocks go nowhere on laziest trading day since July 4 holiday The start of the week was a relative snoozer, with the amount of money changing hands across US exchanges the lowest since the holiday-shortened session on July 3. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 each closed less than 0.1% away from where they ended last week, while the Russell 2000 rose 0.3%. Consumer discretionary posted the largest advance among S&P 500 sector ETFs with a 0.4% gain, while real estate was at the bottom of the leaderboard with a 0.9% drop. Gains on the day were led by Dayforce which soared almost 26% after Bloomberg reported that private equity giant Thoma Bravo is in advanced talks to acquire the HR software provider. Declines were led by EQT Corp and Intel which fell 4.4% and 3.7%, respectively. Elsewhere... Meta shares fell 2.3% after the social media behemoth cut the starting price of its upcoming smart glasses with a display to about $800, down from a more expensive price of over $1,000. The company is also facing two government probes over its AI chatbots. Shares of Duolingo jumped nearly 13% after the company's CEO defended its use of AI amid customer backlash. KeyBanc analysts also upgraded the stock to "overweight." First Solar shares jumped 9.7% after UBS named the solar panel maker a top pick, pointing to fresh IRS guidance that largely preserved 2030 tax credits for the industry. Novo Nordisk rose 2.6% after the pharma giant cut prices for its weight-loss shots Ozempic and Wegovy, while the latter was also approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat a liver condition. TeraWulf jumped 4.6% after the bitcoin mining company said AI cloud platform Fluidstack exercised its option to expand at the company's Lake Mariner, New York, data center campus. — Luke Kawa, Markets Editor & Nia Warfield, Markets Writer Nvidia is adding some more power to its cloud gaming platform Nvidia teased a "major" GeForce Now update on Monday. Read more. Netflix could lose big budget content creators over its theater-skipping policy After almost a decade, the makers of "Stranger Things" could be leaving Netflix for Paramount — but the streamer's core issue is a string of high-cost flops. Read more. US spot ethereum ETFs racked up a new record high of $2.9 billion in inflows last week, extending their streak of positive flows to 14 consecutive weeks, data from SoSoValue shows.  Read more.  Dan Ives freshens up list of favorite AI stocks See who he added to the "IVES AI 30" list. ARK Invest's flagship fund enjoys second-best week of inflows ever Cathie Wood came into this week with lots of dry powder. Tech companies are spending more on people in order to spend less money on people In pursuit of AI talent, tech companies are increasing stock-based compensation, creating dilution risk. Tesla's regulatory credit revenue — and profit — will likely plummet next quarter NHTSA has stopped issuing letters to automakers for violating fuel economy standards, gutting the market for regulatory credits. Why Nvidia and AMD's unusual agreement with the Trump administration might survive any legal challenges Who has grounds to sue and two legal loopholes might keep this deal intact, according to Signum Global Research. Americans are moving at half the rate they used to — why? The factors that have coalesced to keep millions of Americans from switching towns, counties, and states. Was this email forwarded to you? Don't miss out on future stories — subscribe to The Wrap and get your daily dose of financial news straight to your inbox.  Craving more insights in your inbox? Subscribe to Chartr and Snacks for quality reads. We care what you think! If you have any feedback or comments, feel free to reply and let us know your thoughts!  Sherwood Media, LLC produces fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and is a fully owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate... See more Sherwood Terms and Conditions Our Editorial Standards Contact Us Advertise With Us Unsubscribe Privacy Policy