Stocks Muted Ahead Trump-Zelenskyy Meeting, First Solar Jumps: What's Moving Markets Monday?

Author: Piero Cingari | August 18, 2025 01:20pm

Investor risk sentiment paused at the start of the week, as markets awaited details expected to emerge later when President Donald Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders.

• IWM ETF is moving fast. Check live prices here.

On Friday, Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. However, no agreement was reached on a ceasefire in Ukraine. Russia has demanded territorial concessions — including the Donbass and Crimea — as a condition for any deal, an option firmly rejected by Zelenskyy.

The S&P 500, Nasdaq 100 and Dow Jones were all little changed, holding near the record highs reached last week.

Small caps, tracked by the Russell 2000, edged up 0.3%. Treasury yields were broadly steady, with the 10-year yield at 4.33%.

Gold slipped 0.1% to $3,333 per ounce, while oil prices fell 0.8% to $62 a barrel.

Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) dropped 1.2% to $116,000, pulling back from last week's record of $124,517. Losses were widespread across the crypto market, with Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) down 3.3% to $4,327, Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) off 4.3%, and Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) sliding more than 5%.

Monday’s Performance In Major U.S. Indices, ETFs

Major Indices	Price	1-day % chg
Russell 2000	2,295.13	0.4%
Dow Jones	44,967.07	0.0%
S&P 500	6,450.31	0.0%
Nasdaq 100	23,709.13	0.0%

According to Benzinga Pro data:

• The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:VOO) flattened at $591.03.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) held steady at $449.33.
• The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series (NASDAQ:QQQ) eased 0.1% to $576.08.
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) edged 0.3% higher to $227.78.
• The Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLI) is up 0.3%; the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLC) was down 0.66%.

Stocks On The Move Monday

• Solar stocks extended Friday's rally. First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) rose 10.15%, Sunrun Inc. (NASDAQ:RUN) advanced 10.63% and Enphase Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:ENPH) added 5.24% after a new guidance on clean energy tax credits that was less restrictive than feared.
• UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH) added a further 3.15%, on top of Friday’s 12% gain, after Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK) disclosed a $1.6 billion stake.
• Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) fell 4% after reports said the Trump administration plans to take a 10% stake in the company.
• Duolingo Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL) gained 11% after KeyBanc upgraded it to Overweight and Citi Research started coverage with a Buy rating.
• Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) rose 5.03% after the FDA approved its weight-loss drug Wegovy to treat liver disease.
• GoodRx Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:GDRX) jumped 40% on news it will partner with Novo Nordisk to sell Wegovy and Ozempic for $499 a month.
  

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Posted In: $BTC $DOGE $ETH $SOL DIA DUOL ENPH ETH FSLR GDRX INTC IWM NVO QQQ RUN UNH VOO XLB XLC XLI