Historical backfill: prepared on October 4, 2026; observations stop at the article date, using the US close.
From the July 31 close to August 31, GLD gained roughly 9.9%, QQQ 4.2%, SMH 3.0%, SPY 2.7% and TLT 0.3%. Gold led; long Treasuries delivered almost none of the same monthly price gain. The defensive-asset label covered two different outcomes.
Gold’s month-end price was below its level a few days earlier. GLD fell from its August 25 close of $428.07 to $408.42 on August 31, a gap of about 4.6%. A positive monthly entry did not mean a continuous advance.
SMH ended the month at $556.63, about 6.3% below its $594.07 close on August 17. Both gold and semiconductors reached their positive monthly totals with this setback behind them.
On August’s final trading day, GLD fell about 0.1%, SMH rose 0.6% and SPY lost 0.3%.
Sources: Yahoo Finance GLD · Yahoo Finance SMH · Yahoo Finance QQQ · Yahoo Finance SPY · Yahoo Finance TLT. Price changes use consecutive trading-session closes. Monthly comparisons run from July 31 to August 31, 2026; other intervals are specified individually. Yahoo’s historical close field may include provider adjustments. Cash distributions and investors’ realized total returns have not been reconstructed. GLD is a gold ETF; the other ETFs represent their respective baskets rather than spot assets or the entire market. Price facts are separated from interpretation; causal explanations have not been established. Past performance does not indicate future results. Personal research and opinion for information only, not investment advice.