Stock markets on Monday opened flat to start the last day of trading in a blockbuster month, which is set to be the best August in 36 years.
The S&P 500 opened down 2 points, or 0.1 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average opened down 47 points, or 0.2 percent.
August’s stock gains have seen major indexes rise more than 7 percent in what could be their best performance since 1984.
Earlier in the month, the S&P 500 broke its February record, erasing its pre-pandemic losses.
The hot market comes on the heels of record low interest rates and a slew of extraordinary measures from the Federal Reserve, but comes in stark contrast to the real economy, which continues to suffer.
Weekly initial unemployment claims have topped the previously unseen level of 1 million for 22 of the past 23 weeks, and the economy suffered its worst quarterly contraction on record in the second quarter.
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