Moderna Soars 129% for the Week | Closing Bell

Watch on YouTube ↗  |  August 21, 2026 at 20:24  |  8:48  |  Bloomberg Markets
Speakers
Sally Bakewell — Anchor, Bloomberg
Romaine Bostick — Anchor, Bloomberg
Alec Young — Chief Investment Strategist, Money Flows
Emily Graffeo — Anchor, Bloomberg
Carol Massar — Anchor, Bloomberg

Summary

The U.S. market closed higher on the day but lower for the week, with a late risk-on bid masking Treasury volatility and a rotation into hard assets such as gold and bitcoin. Moderna led S&P 500 gainers for the week after positive melanoma vaccine data, while retail earnings from Ross Stores and BJ's Wholesale beat expectations. The memory and chip trade showed continued weakness, with Micron and Nvidia cited as momentum unwinds. The hosts also previewed Nvidia earnings and Jackson Hole, and noted Anthropic's hardware push.

  • Major U.S. indices finished green on the day but lower for the week amid Treasury volatility.
  • Gold and bitcoin rose as investors described a debasement trade out of bonds into hard assets.
  • Moderna soared 129% on the week after melanoma vaccine data with Merck.
  • Ross Stores and BJ's Wholesale gained on strong quarterly results and raised guidance.
  • Micron and chip stocks were called a fading momentum trade with weak hands.
  • Boston Beer dropped after its CFO's announced departure.
  • Next week includes Nvidia earnings and the Jackson Hole symposium.
Ideas
Sally Bakewell Anchor, Bloomberg 0:50
Debasement trade favors hard assets, equities.
Signs of a debasement trade are everywhere, with capital aggressively rotating out of bonds and into hard assets and structural growth equities; gold and bitcoin are higher as investors seek hedges and safety outside the bond market.
GLD BTC Structural Growth Equities MED
Sally Bakewell Anchor, Bloomberg 0:50
Debasement trade favors hard assets, equities.
Signs of a debasement trade are everywhere, with capital aggressively rotating out of bonds and into hard assets and structural growth equities; gold and bitcoin are higher as investors seek hedges and safety outside the bond market.
TLT MED
Romaine Bostick Anchor, Bloomberg 2:55
Cancer vaccine data boosts Moderna, Merck.
Moderna's surge is driven by late-stage data showing its personalized cancer vaccine developed with Merck reduced melanoma recurrence, raising expectations for treating the deadliest form of skin cancer and boosting the broader strategy of using the body's immunity to fight disease. Merck also hit an all-time high on the news.
MRNA MRK HIGH
Romaine Bostick Anchor, Bloomberg 4:08
Raised EPS guidance on strong comps.
Ross Stores boosted its full-year EPS forecast and reported strength throughout the second quarter, with comparable store sales growth supported by both new customers and higher engagement from existing customers.
ROST HIGH
Romaine Bostick Anchor, Bloomberg 4:36
Beat and raised annual earnings guidance.
BJ's Wholesale beat second-quarter sales and adjusted EPS expectations, and management raised its annual earnings guidance, showing strong retail execution.
BJ HIGH
Alec Young Chief Investment Strategist, Money Flows 5:17
Smart money exiting memory and chips.
The smart money is moving on from the memory trade; the fact that Micron and chip names gave up much of their recent bounce in just a couple of days shows weak hands, with momentum coming out of the semiconductor trade and Nvidia lower despite no major fundamental news.
MU NVDA HIGH
Emily Graffeo Anchor, Bloomberg 6:10
CFO exit threatens margin recovery.
Boston Beer shares fell after CFO Diego Reynoso's announced departure; Citi called his exit a meaningful loss because of his key role in the company's margin recovery program, making the management change a negative for the stock.
SAM MED
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This Bloomberg Markets video, published August 21, 2026, features Sally Bakewell, Romaine Bostick, Alec Young, Emily Graffeo discussing GLD, BTC, Structural Growth Equities, TLT, MRNA, MRK, ROST, BJ, MU, NVDA, SAM. 7 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.

Speakers: Sally Bakewell, Romaine Bostick, Alec Young, Emily Graffeo  · Tickers: GLD, BTC, Structural Growth Equities, TLT, MRNA, MRK, ROST, BJ, MU, NVDA, SAM