The market wavered on Monday, and even with two of the three major indices shedding ground, stocks still finished broadly higher for August.

The S&P 500 closed out its best August performance since 1986, advancing 7%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average posted a 7.6% gain, its best returns for the month since 1984.

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The blue-chip benchmark managed to set that mark despite a lackluster end to the month; the Dow fell 223 points, or 0.8%, to finish at 28,430 on Monday.

Buffett turns to Japan. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (ticker: BRK.B , BRK.A ) bought 5% stakes in five different Japanese conglomerates, each of which pays a healthy dividend and most of which trade for significant discounts to book value.

Buffett, who turned 90 on Sunday, has lamented a lack of value in U.S. markets, and Berkshire’s $146 billion in cash at the close of last quarter has been sitting around earning practically nothing in U.S. Treasurys.

AMD on a tear. Semiconductor company Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ) continued a remarkable run on Monday, advancing 6.2% and finishing as the second-best performer in the S&P 500 on the day. AMD’s Ryzen processors are earning early kudos, adding to the momentum the stock has built upon the heels of rival Intel’s ( INTC ) struggles, the inclusion of AMD chips in upcoming PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X consoles, and prospects for market share gains in the PC and data center markets.

Shares are up 98% year to date.

Tesla soars post-split. Tesla ( TSLA ) shares, which just underwent a 5-for-1 split, soared yet again on Monday, adding more than 12% in the day’s session. Shares of the electric vehicle company are up more than 400% in 2020 alone as Tesla has consistently beat analyst expectations and traders have piled into shares.

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Raymond Mitchell, Author

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