Session brief · Friday, August 21, 2026 close
Stocks rose. 2,921 rose, 1,711 fell — but utilities lagged.
9 of 11 sectors finished higher. Materials led at +2.15%; Utilities lagged at -1.67%.
The biggest liquid gainer was RF Acquisition Corp II (RFAI), up 355.6% in financials.
Among benchmarks, DIA (Dow 30) did best at +0.89% and QQQ (Nasdaq-100) did worst at +0.35%.
Market breadth
4,777 common stocks · previous-session close▲ 2,921 advancing (61.1%)145 unchanged▼ 1,711 declining (35.8%)
Sectors, cap-weighted
| Sector | Change | Rising | Falling |
|---|---|---|---|
| Materials | +2.15% | 170 | 65 |
| Healthcare | +1.29% | 504 | 279 |
| Consumer Discretionary | +0.98% | 361 | 163 |
| Financials | +0.96% | 452 | 210 |
| Industrials | +0.68% | 268 | 122 |
| Communication Services | +0.51% | 71 | 46 |
| Technology | +0.46% | 372 | 201 |
| Consumer Staples | +0.42% | 62 | 45 |
| Energy | 0.00% | 55 | 65 |
| Real Estate | −0.17% | 91 | 114 |
| Utilities | −1.67% | 19 | 93 |
Top gainers
Top losers
Most active
Common stocks · $2+ · 500K+ shares · $100M+ market cap · previous-session close. Changes compare the Aug 21, 2026 close with Aug 20, 2026; stocks with unexplained price jumps are excluded.