Wrapping Up August! - 08/31/26 — TraderMerlin

August is officially in the books!

And after another month of AI enthusiasm, strong corporate earnings, stubborn inflation, rising oil prices, geopolitical uncertainty, Fed drama and some major market breakouts, it's time to step back from the daily noise and see where the money actually went.

On today's episode of TraderMerlin, we're pulling up the charts and reviewing the performance of our Top 8 Market Segments for August.

Because sometimes the best way to understand what's happening in the financial markets isn't another headline...

It's simply looking at which assets are actually going UP—and which ones aren't.

We'll compare the performance of the major markets and see where traders and investors were putting their money throughout August.

We'll discuss:

U.S. Equities – The S&P 500, Nasdaq, Dow and Russell 2000 all finished August higher despite plenty of volatility along the way.
Technology – AI remained one of the dominant market themes, with another massive Nvidia earnings report helping reinforce enthusiasm for the AI trade.
Small Caps – Are smaller companies finally participating more meaningfully in the bull market?
Gold – Precious metals delivered another powerful month as inflation, geopolitical risk and concerns about the dollar drove demand.
Bitcoin & Crypto – Bitcoin was one of August's standout performers as digital assets attracted another wave of capital.
Energy & Crude Oil – Middle East tensions and disruptions surrounding the Strait of Hormuz kept energy markets firmly in focus.
Bonds & Interest Rates – Treasury yields remained a major source of volatility as investors digested inflation data and Kevin Warsh's message from Jackson Hole.
The U.S. Dollar – What currency markets are telling us about inflation, monetary policy and global capital flows.

But we're not just ranking winners and losers.

We're asking the much more important question:

What is August's performance telling us about September?

The S&P 500 gained roughly 2.5% in August, continuing an earnings-driven bull market. Semiconductor stocks remained strong, with Nvidia gaining nearly 9% for the month, while software stocks continued their impressive recovery.

But some of the biggest moves weren't in stocks at all.

Bitcoin gained more than 20% during August, while gold also posted a powerful monthly advance as investors increasingly looked toward scarce assets amid concerns about inflation, government debt and monetary policy.

Meanwhile, crude oil remains one of the market's biggest wild cards as renewed tensions in the Middle East pushed Brent back above $90 per barrel to close out the month.

That's a very interesting combination:

Stocks rising.
Gold rising.
Bitcoin rising.
Oil rising.
Bond yields remaining elevated.

Normally, those assets aren't all telling us the same story.

So what exactly is the market pricing in?

That's