Retail results, Fed minutes
and a softer prior close
U.S. equities closed lower on Tuesday, August 18. Home Depot reported higher fiscal second-quarter sales and reaffirmed its fiscal 2026 outlook; the FOMC minutes and a 20-year Treasury auction remain on Wednesday’s schedule after the research cutoff.
Tuesday’s close
The major U.S. equity indexes finished lower on Tuesday, August 18, 2026.
The S&P 500 closed at 7,691.76, down 53.30 points, or 0.7%, from Monday, August 17. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 26,289.71, down 355.20 points, or 1.3%, and the Russell 2000 closed at 3,017.89, down 39.65 points, or 1.3%.
The Associated Press reported that Nvidia Corporation (NVDA), Micron Technology, Inc. (MU), and Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) were among the larger index weights cited in Tuesday’s decline. That reporting provides context for the session; it does not establish a single cause for the index moves.
Retail earnings
The Home Depot, Inc. (HD) reported fiscal second-quarter results before Tuesday’s U.S. market open.
The Home Depot, Inc. reported fiscal second-quarter sales of $47.9 billion for the quarter ended August 2, 2026, up 5.7% from the comparable 2025 quarter. Comparable sales increased 1.7%, U.S. comparable sales increased 1.3%, and GAAP diluted EPS was $4.79.
The Home Depot, Inc. reaffirmed fiscal 2026 guidance, including total-sales growth of approximately 2.5% to 4.5% and comparable-sales growth ranging from approximately flat to 2.0%. The company said that IEEPA tariff refunds are expected to partially offset unplanned fuel, energy, and other input costs.
Wednesday’s policy and Treasury schedule
The August 19 FOMC minutes and the 20-year Treasury bond auction were pending at the research cutoff.
The Federal Reserve Board scheduled the release of minutes from the July 28–29, 2026 FOMC meeting for 2:00 PM ET, or 1:00 PM CT, on Wednesday, August 19, 2026.
Treasury’s current-quarter auction schedule lists a 20-year bond auction for Wednesday, August 19, 2026, following its August 13 announcement. Results had not been released by the 10:46:05 AM ET cutoff.
Private credit
T. Rowe Price OHA Select Private Credit Fund (OCREDIT) reported August 13 results for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, including $176.1 million of gross fundings, a $3.1 billion investment portfolio and one debt investment on non-accrual. The reported portfolio was 90.8% first-lien loans by fair value; the non-accrual position had $29.4 million of cost and $16.0 million of fair value.
What matters
before Wednesday afternoon
U.S. equities closed lower on Tuesday, August 18, with the Nasdaq Composite down 1.3% and the S&P 500 down 0.7%. The Home Depot (HD) reported fiscal second-quarter sales of $47.9 billion and reaffirmed fiscal 2026 guidance. At the August 19 cutoff, the 20-year Treasury auction and FOMC minutes were still scheduled for later Wednesday.
Sources: S&P 500 prior close, August 18, 2026, Nasdaq Composite prior close, August 18, 2026, Russell 2000 prior close, August 18, 2026, 2-year Treasury daily series, 10-year Treasury daily series, SOFR daily series, U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) daily close, August 18, 2026, Brent crude futures daily close, August 18, 2026, Gold price, 24K, August 18, 2026, VIX daily-close series, The Home Depot fiscal Q2 2026 earnings release, Federal Reserve industrial production and capacity utilization release dates, The Elmet Group fiscal Q2 2026 earnings release, American Strategic Investment Co. Q2 2026 earnings release, U.S. Treasury current-quarter auction schedule, U.S. Treasury general auction timing, Target Q2 2026 results context, Target Q2 2026 earnings conference call time, T. Rowe Price OHA Select Private Credit Fund June-quarter release, Federal Reserve monetary policy releases, Home Depot events and presentations.
Primary sources were used for Treasury auction scheduling, Treasury and SOFR observations, company earnings releases, SEC-filed earnings material, Target Corporation’s conference-call timing, and the private-credit fund release. The Federal Reserve's official monetary-policy schedule supports the FOMC minutes timing. Associated Press reporting was used to cross-check the August 18 equity-index closing levels and Target Corporation’s reported results. Investing.com historical-data pages were used for the August 18 DXY and Brent futures closes.