The Major Markets saw mostly higher performance across the 6 indices with the Dow Jones Average the lone holdout in negative territory. For the domestic market, the gains in the S&P 500 and Russell 2000 extended the benchmarks run into fresh all-time highs.

The big story last week was inflation. July CPI came in as expected, while PPI was slightly cooler than expected. These two reports helped to ease concerns about another Fed rate hike in September. Softer retail sales and weaker consumer sentiment also pointed to some slowing in the economy.

By Friday’s close, CME Group’s FedWatch tool showed that the probability of rates holding steady is better than a coin toss for next month’s FOMC Meeting. That said, the growing pressure is towards higher interest rates towards the end of 2026.

Energy Prices did little to sway this forecast. At the sector level, Energy was the clear standout, with the segment gaining more than 7% as Crude Oil prices climbed roughly 5% for the week.