Session brief · Wednesday, August 19, 2026 close
Stocks edged higher. 2,696 rose, 1,977 fell — but financials lagged.
7 of 11 sectors finished higher. Healthcare led at +4.73%; Financials lagged at -0.64%.
The biggest liquid gainer was Moderna (MRNA), up 177.0% in healthcare.
Among benchmarks, IWM (Russell 2000) did best at +0.50% and QQQ (Nasdaq-100) did worst at -0.20%.
Market breadth
4,792 common stocks · previous-session close▲ 2,696 advancing (56.3%)119 unchanged▼ 1,977 declining (41.3%)
Sectors, cap-weighted
| Sector | Change | Rising | Falling |
|---|---|---|---|
| Healthcare | +4.73% | 596 | 203 |
| Consumer Staples | +1.62% | 77 | 33 |
| Communication Services | +1.57% | 72 | 43 |
| Consumer Discretionary | +1.24% | 305 | 218 |
| Real Estate | +0.99% | 173 | 37 |
| Materials | +0.83% | 152 | 82 |
| Industrials | +0.17% | 206 | 186 |
| Energy | −0.08% | 70 | 51 |
| Utilities | −0.20% | 55 | 58 |
| Technology | −0.52% | 291 | 291 |
| Financials | −0.64% | 222 | 449 |
Top gainers
Top losers
Most active
Common stocks · $2+ · 500K+ shares · $100M+ market cap · previous-session close. Changes compare the Aug 19, 2026 close with Aug 18, 2026; stocks with unexplained price jumps are excluded.