S&P 500 SET FOR 4TH STRAIGHT MONTHLY GAIN 🔸 August ends Friday with all three major indexes up 2.5%+ through Thursday. 🔸 S&P 500 & Dow: On track for a 4-month winning streak (longest since Sept. 2024). 🔸 Nasdaq: Heading for a 5th straight monthly gain, best run in ~18 months. 🔸 Gains came despite headwinds: weak Aug. 1 jobs report, Trump’s tariff hikes, and his move to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook. 🔸 Market strength driven by strong earnings, AI enthusiasm, and light trading volumes. 🔸 Dow & S&P 500 hit record highs Thursday, with the S&P marking its 20th record close this year.(*Walter Bloomberg)