--- title: "Gold Moves Higher; US Composite PMI Surges In August" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/296638118.md" description: "US stocks rose, with the Dow gaining 400 points and materials sector up 2.3%. The US S&P Global composite PMI surged to 56 in August, its strongest level since April 2022. Gold prices increased by 1.6%, while oil fell slightly. Individual stock movements varied: Werewolf Therapeutics jumped 113% on merger news, whereas Ubiquiti dropped 10% after earnings reports. European and Asian markets mostly closed higher." datetime: "2026-08-21T16:01:15.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/296638118.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296638118.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/296638118.md) generator: "portal-rs" --- # Gold Moves Higher; US Composite PMI Surges In August U.S. stocks traded higher midway through trading, with the Dow Jones index gaining around 400 points on Friday. The Dow traded up 0.76% to 53,162.51 while the NASDAQ rose 0.01% to 26,070.83. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.32% to 7,665.35. **Leading and Lagging Sectors** Materials shares jumped by 2.3% on Friday. In trading on Friday, information technology stocks fell by 0.5%. **Top Headline** The US S&P Global composite PMI climbed to 56 in August from 54.5 in the previous month, recording the strongest growth since April 2022. **Equities Trading UP** - **RF Acquisition Corp II (**NASDAQ:RFAI) shares shot up 256% to $45.32 following Thursday SEC filings detailing the results of an extraordinary general meeting. At the August 19 meeting, shareholders overwhelmingly approved the proposed business combination with Singapore-based, AI-driven drug discovery firm Nanyang Biologics Pte. Ltd. - Shares of **Werewolf Therapeutics Inc** (NASDAQ:HOWL) got a boost, surging 113% to $0.92 after the company announced a merger with Ambros Therapeutics. The companies secured commitments for an oversubscribed concurrent private placement of $150 million from a syndicate of leading healthcare-dedicated investor. - **Evolution Metals & Technologies Corp (**NASDAQ:EMAT) shares were also up, gaining 30% to $4.34. Evolution Metals & Technologies recently reported second-quarter losses of 2 cents per share which beat the analyst consensus estimate of losses of 3 cents per share. **Equities Trading DOWN** - **Ubiquiti Inc (**NYSE:UI) shares dropped 10% to $519.00 after reporting fourth-quarter results. - Shares of **OSI Systems Inc (**NASDAQ:OSIS) were down 7% to $201.75 after the company reported mixed fourth-quarter financial results and issued weak FY27 sales guidance. The company’s board approved an additional authorization to repurchase 1 million shares. - **Flux Power Holdings Inc** (NASDAQ:FLUX) was down, falling 23% to $0.63 after the company reported mixed fourth-quarter financial results. **Commodities** In commodity news, oil traded down 0.4% to $86.46 while gold traded up 1.6% at $4,645.10. Silver traded up 2.2% to $69.610 on Friday, while copper rose 1.8% to $6.5845. **Euro zone** European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.6%, while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 0.9%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.7%, Germany’s DAX gained 0.6%, while France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.4%. **Asia Pacific Markets** Asian markets closed mostly higher on Friday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 falling 0.30%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gaining 1.21%, China’s Shanghai Composite rising 0.04% and India’s BSE Sensex gaining 0.004%. **Economics** - The S&P Global US manufacturing PMI fell to 53.2 in August from the previous reading of 53.9, versus market estimates of 53.9. - The S&P Global services PMI climbed to 56.8 in August from 54.6 in the prior month, versus market estimates of 54. - The US S&P Global composite PMI climbed to 56 in August from 54.5 in the previous month, recording the strongest growth since April 2022. *Photo via Shutterstock* ### Related Stocks - [UI.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/UI.US.md) - [HOWL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/HOWL.US.md) - [USO.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/USO.US.md) - [.SPX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/.SPX.US.md) - [.DJI.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/.DJI.US.md) - [BNO.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BNO.US.md) - [UGL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/UGL.US.md) - [SCO.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SCO.US.md) - [IAU.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/IAU.US.md) - [GOLD.AU](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GOLD.AU.md) - [GLD.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GLD.US.md) - [SGOL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SGOL.US.md) - [GLDM.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GLDM.US.md) - [UCO.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/UCO.US.md) - [SPY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SPY.US.md) - [IVV.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/IVV.US.md) - [VOO.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/VOO.US.md) - [SPLG.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SPLG.US.md) - [SPXL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SPXL.US.md) - [UPRO.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/UPRO.US.md) - [SSO.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SSO.US.md) - [SH.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SH.US.md) - [SPXS.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SPXS.US.md) - [SPXU.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SPXU.US.md) - [SDS.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SDS.US.md) - [SPYI.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SPYI.US.md) - [JEPI.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/JEPI.US.md) - [XYLD.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/XYLD.US.md) - [DIA.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/DIA.US.md) - [DDM.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/DDM.US.md) - [UDOW.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/UDOW.US.md) - [DOG.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/DOG.US.md) - [SDOW.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SDOW.US.md) - [DXD.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/DXD.US.md) - [518850.CN](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/518850.CN.md) - [.IXIC.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/.IXIC.US.md) - [00HSI.HK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/00HSI.HK.md) - [000001.CN](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/000001.CN.md) - [RFAI.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/RFAI.US.md) - [EMAT.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/EMAT.US.md) - [OSIS.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/OSIS.US.md) - [FLUX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/FLUX.US.md) - [RFAIR.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/RFAIR.US.md) - [RFAIU.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/RFAIU.US.md) ## Related News & Research - [Why is your gold waiting on a speech?](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296733808.md) - [PRECIOUS-Gold holds steady with Fed minutes in focus](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296310600.md) - [Oil edges up on uncertainty over exports through Hormuz](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296282399.md) - [Oil extends climb on prolonged Hormuz export uncertainty](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296302371.md) - [Ubiquiti (UI) Earnings And Dividend News Has Investors Asking If The Stock Is Fully Valued](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296795201.md) --- > **Disclaimer: This article is for reference only and does not constitute any investment advice.**