"Recap Aug. 22"

Stocks shook off early losses to leave the S&P 500 little changed for the day, as the broad index sits near the upper end of its two-week range and green by 17% year-to-date. Treasury yields ticked higher across the board, with both the two- and 10-year yields settling near 1.62% (the three-month vs. 10-year spread remains inverted by more than 35 basis points).  WTI crude and gold settled at $55 a barrel and $1,499 an ounce, respectively, and the VIX rose 6% to 16.70. Meanwhile, economic data continue to indicate trouble, as this morning’s reading of the Markit Manufacturing PMI for August fell below 50 (indicating contraction) for the first time since September 2009.