Stock market today: S&P 500 and Nasdaq gain on soft inflation data, Dow dips

LIVE Stock market today: S&P 500 and Nasdaq gain on soft inflation data, Dow dips Grace O'Donnell and Jake Conley Updated Thu, August 13, 2026 at 7:02 PM GMT+2 2 min read ^IXIC US stocks mostly rose on Thursday morning after another inflation reading that eased September rate-hike bets and a slew of earnings reports. The S&P 500 ( ^GSPC ) rose 0. 5%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ( ^IXIC ) moved up 0.

7% after a calm day on Wall Street. Dow Jones Industrial Average ( ^DJI ), meanwhile, dipped about 0. 1%.

Cisco ( CSCO ) and Cerebras ( CBRS ) stocks tanked on Thursday morning after the two AI-related companies reported earnings. Applied Materials ( AMAT ), which makes chipmaking equipment, reports results after the market close following a whopping 190% gain for its stock over the past year. Data from the Producer Price Index, which tracks inflation from the sellers' perspective, showed prices rising by less than expected, another positive sign for investors after Wednesday's Consumer Price Index report showed inflation easing in July .

So-called core readings showed slowdowns of both monthly and annual price appreciation. Though cooling CPI and PPI data prompted traders to fade bets of a September rate hike, it likely wasn't enough to settle the divide among policymakers, and Fed watchers still expect at least one rate hike by the end of the year. One key inflation input — oil prices — fell on Thursday as President Trump pivots from an active military campaign to one focused on economic pressure.

The Trump administration has stated that the US retains "total control" over the Strait of Hormuz,  disputing private data  showing low shipping traffic. Initial jobless claims data on Thursday showed first-time unemployment filings ticked up week over week, while continuing claims, which track people remaining on unemployment, fell — a coda to last week's surprisingly weak jobs report. And earnings from Tapestry ( TPR ), Dillard's ( DDS ), and Birkenstock Holding ( BIRK ) could give investors insight into how retailers are managing tariff refunds .

LIVE 13 updates 10 mins ago Grace O'Donnell Things are looking up for AI infrastructure companies, for now Yahoo Finance’s Dan Howley reports: The AI build-out doesn't appear to be slowing anytime soon. At least that's what you can glean from a trio of earnings after the bell on Tuesday. CoreWeave ( CRWV ), Nebius ( NBIS ), and Supermicro ( SMCI ) each reported strong quarterly results, sending shares soaring on Wednesday as investors shrugged off AI bubble fears for the time being.

CoreWeave stock jumped as much as 20% Wednesday, while Supermicro was up roughly 15%. Nebius saw the biggest moves, with its stock soaring some 27%. The general trend among the three?

Computing constraints aren't going anywhere, and businesses are willing to pay up to access as much compute as they can. Read more. 54 mins ago Ines Ferré Why the 'K-shaped' consumer gap is closing Americans’ spending is growing, helping to close the K-shaped gap among consumers, according to the latest BofA research.

Household balance sheets remain healthy, particularly among higher-income consumers, with the stock market "likely supporting higher-income households' spending growth," BofA researchers wrote Thursday. At the same time, the picture is improving for lower-income consumers. Wage growth among these households has accelerated, helping the "K" converge.

According to BofA research released Thursday, after-tax wage growth for lower-income households surpassed that of higher-income households in July for the first time since December 2024. Consumers across income groups are also showing signs of stronger financial health. "The share of households paying off their full credit card balance each month has increased for all income groups," BofA researchers noted in their latest report.

The report also takes a more hawkish view of monetary policy than the broader market. While much of Wall Street expects the Federal Reserve to keep rates steady for the remainder of this year and begin cutting them in the first half of 2027, BofA expects three 25 basis point rate hikes this year. The researchers argue that, if the Fed fails to deliver those hikes, it could risk losing control of the long end of the yield curve as inflation expectations rise, pushing 10-year and 30-year Treasury yields higher.

Today at 4:02 PM UTC Jake Conley 'Drawdowns, Rebounds, Repeat': JPMorgan sees volatility as a primary driver of global markets in 2026 If there's a story of the summer in markets so far, it's volatility, says JPMorgan's global strategy desk. "This summer's narrative and market performance reinforce our view that structurally higher volatility is the new baseline, characterized by fatter tails and thinner patience," the strategists wrote. The strategists, led by global research chair Joyce Chang, laid out several market factors that have introduced volatility — and will continue to do so — in a note to clients on Thursday.

Uncertainty through global markets is generating powerful trends that reverse or decay unusually quickly, per JPMorgan's global strategy desk. Chart: JPMorgan · JPMorgan The first of those is the AI boom. At the same time as the performance of AI-focused equities has sent the market rallying to new all-time highs, "an intense period of deleveraging, amplified by leveraged ETFs, resulted in severe losses in July and sell-offs that were unprecedented in their speed and magnitude," the strategists wrote.

On the policy front, trade wars are now "structurally embedded" into markets, the strategists noted, as President Trump has made tariffs and export restrictions "normal tools of statecraft. " The Trump White House has placed far more emphasis on the measures — which can swing economic relationships and, therefore, markets — than previous administrations have. Several thousand miles to the east, the war in Iran continues to wreak havoc on the global energy market, as the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has created the largest energy supply shock in history, sending global derivatives prices higher and injecting mass geopolitical tension into the market.

With no clear path forward, markets must adapt to a new normal of uncertainty, the strategists argue. All of this, the strategists noted, has led the summer trading season to be characterized by short and sharp drawdowns and rebounds, with high levels of intraday volatility. Powerful trends are popping up and then reversing or decaying unusually quickly.

In other words, as the strategists wrote, "Drawdowns, Rebounds, Repeat. " Today at 2:47 PM UTC Jake Conley The dollar is caught between 2 forces, Rabobank says The dollar's old relationship with oil may be breaking down — and the US energy boom is a big reason why. Historically, crude and the greenback have moved in opposite directions.

Oil is priced in dollars, so a stronger dollar weighs on commodities because it costs buyers more to purchase them. That relationship properly broke down in 2022 as the US emerged as a major energy exporter in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Rabobank senior FX strategist Jane Foley argued. While the strength of the traditional inverse correlation between oil and the dollar began breaking down following the crash of oil price crash of 2014, the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 accelerated the breakdown.

Chart: Rabobank · Rabobank That the traditional correlation has flipped has taken on greater emphasis amid the war in Iran and disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Higher oil prices once represented an almost unambiguously negative shock for the US economy. But the war has presented an opportunity for the US's major oil producers to ramp up their production and take advantage of higher prices, driving up the country's energy exports.

That shift has helped reinforce the dollar's traditional safe-haven appeal when the conflict began, Foley said. There is a competing force, however: the Federal Reserve. A much softer-than-expected July payrolls report and relatively benign July inflation data have pushed investors to pare back expectations for rate hikes, removing a key source of dollar support.

The result is a tug-of-war: easing Fed expectations point toward a weaker dollar, while another oil spike or prolonged Hormuz disruption could push investors back toward the greenback. "For as long as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is curtailed, the USD is likely to retain a safe haven premium, supported by the US's energy exporter status," Foley wrote. "Thus, while we see scope for some downside potential for the USD coming from a reduction in Fed rate hike expectations, we expect these to be contained by safe haven demand, until further clarity regarding the Strait of Hormuz emerges.

" Today at 1:38 PM UTC Jake Conley US stock market opens into the green on Thursday The US stock market pushed into the green on Thursday after wholesale inflation data showed prices advancing more slowly than expected, and investors digested another round of earnings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ( ^DJI ) gained 0. 1%, while the S&P 500 ( ^GSPC ) climbed by a stronger 0.

5% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ( ^IXIC ) added 0. 6%. Shares in Cisco ( CSCO ) and Cerebras ( CBRS ) traded steeply in the red to open the morning as investors assessed the margins and expectations at both companies, given the worries bubbling up around AI demand.

Specialized equipment maker Applied Materials ( AMAT ) will report after the bell. Data from the Producer Price Index, which tracks wholesale inflation, showed prices rose in July by a smaller margin than expected, coming after a CPI report that showed consumer prices also moving in the right direction. Bets on a rate hike from the Federal Reserve in September backed off even further.

Elsewhere on the economic data calendar, initial jobless claims data showed first-time unemployment filings rose week-on-week, while continuing claims, which track people remaining on unemployment, fell. Today at 1:18 PM UTC Jake Conley CPI data shows AI is 'inflationary in the near-term,' says Bank of America AI is pushing consumer prices higher, just as the Federal Reserve fights to get inflation under control, according to Bank of America. Even as the July CPI data, which was in line with expectations, pointed to a "cooling trajectory" for inflation, "core goods" surprised to the upside, driven by price appreciation in IT commodities, per BofA US economist Stephen Juneau.

"The data continue to underscore our view that the AI investment boom is inflationary in the near-term," Juneau wrote. Inflation in IT goods, driven by the AI boom, is driving up consumer costs and proving that AI is likely to be inflationary in the short-term, per Bank of America. Chart: BofA Global Research · BofA Global Research Under the hood of the CPI report, "core goods" prices grew 0.

2% month over month. Contributing to that pick-up was growth of 1. 4% in IT commodities, which added 12 basis points to the core goods figure, Juneau said.

"AI is not only raising input costs for electronics, but also driving a positive wealth effect that is supporting consumer demand," Juneau wrote. "The disinflationary effects of AI that Chair Warsh has been touting will have to wait a little longer. " Today at 12:38 PM UTC Jake Conley Initial jobless claims rise above expectations to 209,000 Initial jobless claims rose more than expected to 209,000 in the week ended Aug.

8 , according to data released by the Department of Labor on Thursday. New claims for unemployment benefits were expected to be lower at 202,000, per Bloomberg consensus estimates. The count marks a slight pick-up from the previous week's revised tally of 200,000 claims.

The four-week moving average of initial claims remained flat week over week at 199,000. Continuing claims, which track the unemployed population still seeking work, fell to 1. 777 million in the week ended Aug.

1, coming in below economists' expectations of 1. 794 million. The prior week's count was revised down to 1.

799 million from 1. 801 million. Today at 12:34 PM UTC Jake Conley July wholesale inflation comes in below expectations Wholesale inflation advanced slightly slower than expected in July, falling below expectations of an uptick in prices, data released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed.

Producer prices remained flat in July over the previous month, while economists had predicted growth of 0. 2%. The measure comes in slightly above June's revised loss of 0.

1%. The "core" reading — which excludes the more volatile food and energy costs — showed producer prices advanced by 0. 2% over the previous month.

That was slightly below the 0. 3% growth economists had predicted and slightly below June's revised gain of 0. 4%.

On a year-over-year basis, headline prices rose by 4. 7% in June, below estimates of 4. 9% and the previous month's revised 5.

5% print. Core inflation came in at 4. 2%, slightly hotter than estimates of 4.

1% but cooler than the previous month's gain of 4. 7%. Today at 12:04 PM UTC Ines Ferré Investors await PPI reading for clues on Fed's next move Investors will get a read on wholesale prices, providing further clues about what Fed policymakers may decide to do about interest rates at their September meeting.

Economists expect the headline Producer Price Index to grow 0. 2% in July, slowing from the . 03% rise in June.

On an annualized basis, inflation is expected to fall to 4. 9%, down from 5. 5% in June.

Core prices, which exclude food and energy, likely rose 0. 3% on the month. On an annualized basis, core prices are expected to fall to 4.

2% from 4. 7%. The PPI reading, due out at 8:30 a.

m. ET, comes after a cooler-than-expected Consumer Price Index reading on Wednesday. Today at 11:54 AM UTC Grace O'Donnell Gold prices must overcome this next hurdle before another bullish run Yahoo Finance’s Brian Sozzi writes: The monthlong rally in gold prices has brought the precious metal to a decisive moment for chart watchers and the bulls waiting for a bigger breakout.

Gold prices got rejected at the key psychological 200-day moving average on Wednesday. The price of the yellow metal closed the session at $4,363 an ounce. The 200-day moving average stands at about $4,484 per ounce, per Yahoo Finance AlphaSpace analysis.

Alphaspace gold chart Prices have rallied about 6. 3% over the past month, compared with a 2% advance in the S&P 500 ( ^GSPC ). The 200-day moving average is one of the most widely followed technical indicators as it helps investors distinguish a stock, commodity, or other asset's long-term trend from short-term market noise.

An asset trading above its 200-day moving average is generally viewed as being in a long-term uptrend. A break below that level is often interpreted as a bearish signal that selling pressure is increasing and institutional investors may be turning more cautious. Read more.

Today at 10:00 AM UTC Jared Blikre Cheesecake Factory is crushing Chipotle in a restaurant rotation not seen in a decade Wall Street is rewriting the restaurant pecking order. This time, established chains are beating the growth stars. Over the past 60 trading days, roughly three months, Darden ( DRI ), Texas Roadhouse ( TXRH ), Brinker ( EAT ), Cheesecake Factory ( CAKE ), and BJ's Restaurants ( BJRI ) have gained roughly 62% at the median .

Meanwhile, Chipotle ( CMG ), Wingstop ( WING ), and Shake Shack ( SHAK ) have gone essentially nowhere. That 62-percentage-point gap is wider than anything seen from 2016 through 2025, according to Yahoo Finance data. It reached a record 66 points on Aug.

7, topping the previous high of 50 points set in November 2019. Cheesecake Factory, Texas Roadhouse and other established chains have beaten Chipotle, Shake Shack and Wingstop by 62 points over 60 sessions — a decade high. · Yahoo Finance analysis of AlphaSpace data This is not simply a sit-down-versus-fast-food trade.

Read more. Today at 9:00 AM UTC Grace O'Donnell Good morning. Here's what's happening today.

Economic data: Initial jobless claims, week ended Aug. 8 (+199,000 previously); Continuing claims, week ended Aug. 1 (+1.

801 million previously); PPI final demand, month-on-month, July (+0. 2% expected, -0. 3% previously); PPI ex food and energy, month-on-month, July (+0.

3% expected, +0. 2% previously); PPI final demand, year-on-year, July (+4. 9% expected, +5.

5% previously); PPI ex food and energy, year-on-year, July (+4. 1% expected, +4. 7% previously) Earnings calendar: Applied Materials ( AMAT ), Brookfield Corporation ( BN ), Nu Holdings ( NU ), JD.

com ( JD ), Tapestry ( TPR ), Dillard's ( DDS ), Birkenstock Holding ( BIRK ) Catch up on some notable stories from overnight: Gas prices have never been this high in mid-August Anthropic said in talks to buy startup Decart for $6 billion Cerebras shares plummet 16% after results fail to impress investors Coherent forecasts upbeat first quarter on robust AI demand Cisco forecasts annual revenue above estimates on sustained AI spending Today at 8:00 AM UTC Grace O'Donnell Korean stocks rise 22% in 10 days as chip rally regains steam Bloomberg reports: South Korean stocks climbed, putting the benchmark index on track to enter a technical bull market, as a global rebound in the AI trade fueled a rapid reversal from last month's historic rout. The benchmark Kospi gained as much as 4. 8% on Thursday, extending its gain from a July 30 low to around 22%.

Heavyweight memory chipmakers Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc. drove the advance, each jumping more than 5%.

Enthusiasm for tech hardware stocks is returning on evidence of continued massive AI spending by global Big Tech firms in the latest results. The sentiment has sharply turned around from the past few months, when forced liquidations of leveraged chipmaker bets triggered trading halts and wiped out billions of dollars in retail wealth. Recent government curbs on single-stock leveraged ETFs and signs of investors reducing margin debt have helped stabilize the market.

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