Should Wall Street Take Fridays Off For The Summer?
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Market Update according to ValuEngine: August 4,2025 - U.S. equity markets ended the week sharply lower, with broad-based declines across sectors. Volatility on Friday once again turned the tide, dragging major indexes into the red for the week. Is it time to take Fridays off for the summer? From the last few weeks, it's clear that buyers have done so while sellers have not.
ETF Performance Summary
| Ticker | Name | VE Rating | Last CLose Date | Last CLose Price | Last Week Price | Change |
| QQQM | Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF | 4 | 08-01-2025 | 228.02 | 233.89 | -2.51% |
| SCHD | Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF | 2 | 08-01-2025 | 26.38 | 27.2 | -3.01% |
| SPLG | SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF | 4 | 08-01-2025 | 73.15 | 74.93 | -2.38% |
| VB | Vanguard Small-Cap Index Fund ETF | 2 | 08-01-2025 | 237.58 | 245.7 | -3.30% |
| XLB | Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund | 1 | 08-01-2025 | 86.72 | 91.03 | -4.73% |
| XLC | Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund | 5 | 08-01-2025 | 106.12 | 107.04 | -0.86% |
| XLE | Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund | 1 | 08-01-2025 | 85.59 | 88.09 | -2.84% |
| XLF | Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund | 5 | 08-01-2025 | 51.4 | 53.07 | -3.15% |
| XLI | Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund | 3 | 08-01-2025 | 149.74 | 154.51 | -3.09% |
| XLK | Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund | 4 | 08-01-2025 | 257.07 | 264.08 | -2.65% |
| XLP | Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund | 2 | 08-01-2025 | 80.16 | 80.66 | -0.62% |
| XLRE | Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund | 2 | 08-01-2025 | 41.29 | 42.05 | -1.81% |
| XLU | Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund | 3 | 08-01-2025 | 85.8 | 83.62 | 2.61% |
| XLV | Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund | 2 | 08-01-2025 | 131.13 | 135.29 | -3.07% |
| XLY | Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund | 4 | 08-01-2025 | 216.09 | 226.18 | -4.46% |
Current ValuEngine reports on all covered stocks and ETFs can be viewed at valuengine.com on a free trial,
Top 3 Stock Performers (Global)
| Ticker | Name | VE Rating | Last CLose Date | Last Close Price | Price 30 Days Ago | Difference |
| CLS | Celestica Inc | 4 | 08-01-2025 | 194.74 | 154 | 26.45% |
| ONC | BeOne Medicines AG | 5 | 08-01-2025 | 299.01 | 240.99 | 24.08% |
| ARGX | argenx SE - ADR | 5 | 08-01-2025 | 673.8 | 546.04 | 23.40% |
Top 3 Stock Performers (US)
| Ticker | Name | VE Rating | Last CLose Date | Last Close Price | Price 30 Days Ago | Difference |
| ALAB | Astera Labs Inc | 4 | 08-01-2025 | 131.1 | 89.62 | 46.28% |
| FIX | Comfort Systems USA Inc | 4 | 08-01-2025 | 695.3 | 541.48 | 28.41% |
| AMD | Advanced Micro Devices Inc | 4 | 08-01-2025 | 171.7 | 134.8 | 27.37% |
Strategy Note
Perhaps the US stock markets should consider taking Fridays off the rest of the summer. Fridays have tanked the S&P 500 Index’s weekly returns during three of the last four weeks. Altogether, the S&P 500 experienced its worst weekly decline since May 23rd, while the Dow Jones had its worst week since April 4th.
While the S&P 500 has held on to most of its gains for the first six months, the same is not true for small cap stocks. In the week ending August 1, the Russell 2000 fell 4.17%. For the entire month of July (which forms a significant portion of the last 4 weeks), the index fell 1.49%. It prompted small-cap investment guru Jason Zweig to wonder aloud whether small cap investing is dead, at least under the current regulatory regime. In addition to threatened tariffs becoming reality – at least for now - concerns about a potentially weaker U.S. economy may have also contributed to the decline, as indicated by a weak July jobs report. Add in the fact that even companies reporting strong earnings also issued warning about potential negative impact as a result of higher supply chain costs, there were a plethora of reasons for traders to sell stocks and take profits. Meanwhile, the Utilities Sector remains among our top-rated sectors for forecasted returns with relatively low betas and high dividend yields. It may turn out to be the closest thing to a safe harbor available in today’s turbulent capital markets.
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www.ValuEngine.com (Valuengine, Inc) is a stock valuation and forecasting service founded by Ivy League finance academics. VE utilizes ...
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