--- title: "Bessent's Bond Rescue Fizzles, Walmart Craters 9%: Stock Market Today" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/296520868.md" description: "U.S. Treasury bond yields rebounded toward 20-month highs, undermining Secretary Bessent's buyback efforts and weighing on stocks. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones fell, led by Walmart's 9.4% plunge due to slow domestic sales growth. Conversely, energy and agribusiness sectors gained, with Deere surging 9% on strong earnings. Crypto equities rallied as Bitcoin exceeded $72,000, while Moderna dropped 20% after profit-taking." datetime: "2026-08-20T17:02:57.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/296520868.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296520868.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/296520868.md) --- # Bessent's Bond Rescue Fizzles, Walmart Craters 9%: Stock Market Today The U.S. Treasury’s bond-buyback rescue lasted less than 24 hours, as long-term yields snapped back toward 20-month highs Thursday, weighing on stocks amid investor concerns that buybacks can’t offset heavy deficit financing, corporate debt issuance and sticky inflation. Treasury Secretary **Scott Bessent** said Thursday that bond buybacks could exceed $4 billion, but investors remain skeptical that the intervention can address what ails the U.S. government. The 10-year Treasury yield rose 6 basis points to 4.71%, roughly 4 basis points shy of the 20-month high struck earlier this week, while the 30-year climbed 7 basis points to 5.26% – erasing almost the entire post-announcement decline. The 2-year added 3 basis points to 4.2%. The S&P 500 fell 0.4% to 7,678, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.8%, or roughly 430 points, to 53,033. The heaviest drag on the blue-chip index? **Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)** — the stock cratered on its slowest domestic sales growth in six years. The consumer giant slumped 9.4% to $103.62, its sharpest single-session decline in four years. Adjusted EPS of $0.81 topped the $0.74 consensus and revenue of $187.9 billion beat, but U.S. comparable sales rose just 2.6% against 3.8% expected – the slowest domestic growth in six years – and the margin beat leaned heavily on tariff refunds. The company still raised full-year adjusted EPS guidance to $2.80-$2.87. The Nasdaq 100 dropped 0.8% to 29,186.  Gold held its ground at $4,520 per ounce, up 0.1% and hovering at a more-than-two-month high, while silver jumped 2.2% to $68.39. **Bitcoin** (CRYPTO: BTC) soared past $72,000, on pace for its strongest week since November 2024. ## Thursday’s Performance In Major US Indices Index Last % Change MTD YTD S&P 500 7,678 \-0.4% +2.2% +12.1% Dow Jones 53,033 \-0.8% +1.5% +10.3% Nasdaq 100 29,186 \-0.8% +0.0% +16.0% Russell 2000 2,996 \-1.3% +0.3% +21.7% _Updated by 12:15 PM ET_ According to the Benzinga Pro platform: - The **Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:VOO)** fell 0.4%. - The **SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (NYSE:DIA)** slid 0.8%. - The **Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ)** dropped 0.6%. - The **iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM)** declined 1.3%. ## Crypto Stocks Extend Rally, Moderna Sinks 20% Energy was the standout winner, with the **Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund** (NYSE:XLE) up 1.3% and now ahead 8.2% month-to-date as crude reprices the Hormuz blockade. The **Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund** (NYSE:XLB) added 0.6% and the **Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund** (NYSE:XLRE) rose 0.5%. On the losing side, the **Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund** (NYSE:XLY) fell 1.5%, the worst of the eleven groups. The **Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund** (NYSE:XLP), the **Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund** (NYSE:XLC) and the **Industrials Select Sector SPDR Fund** (NYSE:XLI) each shed roughly 0.7%. ## At the Industry Level the Agricultural Complex Led **VanEck Agribusiness ETF** (NYSE:MOO) is up 2.5% on the back of farm-equipment earnings. The **VanEck Gold Miners ETF** (NYSE:GDX) matched that with a 2.5% advance and is now up nearly 35% month-to-date. Losers clustered in long-duration growth: the **Invesco WilderHill Clean Energy ETF** (NYSE:PBW) dropped 3.1%, the **U.S. Global Jets ETF** (NYSE:JETS) fell 2.1%, and both the **iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF** (BATS:ITB) and the **iShares Biotechnology ETF** (NASDAQ:IBB) lost about 2.0%. **Tempus AI Inc. (NASDAQ:TEM)** led the Russell 1000 with an 11.0% jump, extending Wednesday’s rally after Merck and Moderna’s Phase 3 INTerpath-001 readout validated the tumor-profiling technology behind Personalis – the company Tempus agreed to acquire for roughly $1.5 billion. BTIG reiterated a Buy rating and lifted its price target to $80. **Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)** surged 9% after fiscal third-quarter EPS of $5.10 blew past the $4.72 consensus on revenue of $12.61 billion, well ahead of estimates near $10.9 billion. Construction and forestry operating margin expanded to 12.1% from 7.7%, and management raised full-year net income guidance to $4.75-5.00 billion while calling 2026 the bottom of the ag equipment cycle. Peers followed: **AGCO Corporation (NYSE:AGCO)** gained 5.2%, **CNH Industrial N.V. (NYSE:CNH)** rose 6.0%, and fertilizer names **CF Industries Holdings Inc. (NYSE:CF)** and **The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS)** added 6.1% and 3.9%. Crypto equities ripped for a second session. **Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR)** climbed 7.7% and **Circle Internet Group Inc. (NYSE:CRCL)** rose 7.2% as a roughly $3.3 billion short squeeze powered bitcoin past $72,000, with Trump’s meeting with major crypto executives adding fuel. **Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN)** gained 6.7% and **Bitmine Immersion Technologies Inc. (NYSE:BMNR)** added 6.7%. **Caris Life Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:CAI)** rounded out the top five with a 7.0% gain. The company last reported on Aug. 5 and there is no confirmed company-specific catalyst in the tape today; the move tracks the same precision-oncology read-through lifting Tempus, alongside a 5.1% advance in **Illumina Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN)**. ## The Downside **Moderna Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA)** gave back 20.3% and roughly $14 billion in market value one session after a 177% moonshot on the melanoma vaccine data. Investors locked in gains and refocused on the $782 million second-quarter net loss and negative operating cash flow underneath the oncology story. **X-Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XE)** tumbled 8.7% and **SOLV Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:MWH)** lost 8.6%, hit squarely by the 30-year yield’s return to 5.26% and by lingering doubts over AI capex durability that have dogged the group all month.  **Oklo Inc. (NYSE:OKLO)** fell 4.8% alongside them. **Karman Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KRMN)** dropped 8.1%. The move looks like sector-wide de-risking after Bessent signaled Washington will lean on economic rather than military pressure on Iran.  **AeroVironment Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)** fell 7.7%, **Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)** lost 6.8% and **Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB)** slid 5.0%. Elsewhere in consumer, **DICK’S Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE:DKS)** fell 6.9% and **Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NCLH)** lost 4.8%, as the discretionary complex absorbed the Walmart read-across on the U.S. consumer. ## Thursday’s Russell 1000 Top Gainers Name % change **Tempus AI, Inc.** +11.03% **Deere & Company** +9.01% **Strategy Inc** +7.69% **Circle Internet Group, Inc.** +7.21% **Caris Life Sciences, Inc.** +6.96% ## Thursday’s Russell 1000 Top Losers Name % change **Moderna, Inc.** \-20.30% **Walmart Inc.** \-9.35% **X-Energy, Inc.** \-8.69% **SOLV Energy, Inc.** \-8.61% **Karman Holdings Inc.** \-8.13% _Image: Shutterstock_ ### Related Stocks - [GBTC.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GBTC.US.md) - [MRNA.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MRNA.US.md) - [WMT.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/WMT.US.md) - [DE.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/DE.US.md) - [.DJI.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/.DJI.US.md) - [FBTC.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/FBTC.US.md) - [IVV.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/IVV.US.md) - [IBIT.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/IBIT.US.md) - [ARKB.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/ARKB.US.md) - [.SPX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/.SPX.US.md) - [DIA.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/DIA.US.md) - [SPY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SPY.US.md) - [VOO.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/VOO.US.md) - [BITB.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BITB.US.md) - [BITO.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BITO.US.md) - [BRRR.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BRRR.US.md) - [BTCO.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BTCO.US.md) - [BTCW.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BTCW.US.md) - [HODL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/HODL.US.md) - [EZBC.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/EZBC.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) - [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) - [MRNX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MRNX.US.md) - [MRNY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MRNY.US.md) - [03008.HK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/03008.HK.md) - [03042.HK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/03042.HK.md) - [03430.HK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/03430.HK.md) - [BTCE.DE](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BTCE.DE.md) ## Related News & Research - [As 30-Year Yields Spike to 5.31%, Our Top Chart Strategist Warns There’s a Risk to Stocks: ‘In a Word, Yes’](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296153828.md) - [WMT Stock Slides as Walmart Same-Store Sales Disappoint](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296524455.md) - [Moderna shares surge after it says its experimental mRNA cancer treatment passed a key test](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296382081.md) - [Deere Q3 Preview: Is Tractor Maker an AI Data Center Play? Earnings Report Could Tell Investors 'Yes'](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296387154.md) - [Walmart strong again in second quarter, but its outlook is reserved](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296480956.md)