Best-Performing Leveraged ETF Areas of Last Week

Wall Street offered a downbeat performance last week, with the S&P 500 falling about 1.4%, the Nasdaq declining about 2%, the Dow Jones slipping about 0.4%, and the small-cap index Russell 2000 retreating about 1.3%. Inflation woes returned as the U.S.-Iran standoff continued, which stoked fears about a global rise in oil-led price levels.

The weakness extended beyond U.S. equities, with the MSCI All Country World Index falling nearly 1% for the week. However, on the final day of the week, U.S. stocks recovered as investors attempted to regain their footing, following a sharp sell-off triggered by rising Treasury yields.

U.S. Dollar Slips to a Three-Month Low

The U.S. dollar fell to a three-month low against the euro on Aug. 21, 2026, as concerns grew that the U.S. Treasury’s plan to expand buybacks of longer-dated government debt could put additional pressure on the greenback.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Aug. 20, 2026 that the government could further increase its Treasury repurchases, a day after the department surprised markets by pledging to at least double the size of its buybacks of longer-dated debt. The move is aimed at containing rising bond yields.

Note that U.S. dollar fund Invesco DB US Dollar Index Bullish Fund UUP, which offers direct exposure to the U.S. dollar, slumped about 0.6% last week. Since the U.S. dollar slipped, safe-haven asset gold jumped 5.2%.