**Stock Market Today — Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026** Wall Street ended the session mixed-to-higher, with tech/AI names leading and the S&P 500 back near its record after a cooler-than-feared inflation report. **Index closes (per [AP News](https://apnews.com/article/wall-street-stocks-dow-nasdaq-c2b9200bd737220ef848a37ffea21f95)):** - **S&P 500:** +20.30 pts (+0.3%) to **7,748.50** — its first gain since setting an all-time high on Friday (record close: 7,757.64, per [Barron's](https://www.barrons.com/livecoverage/stock-market-news-today-081226)) - **Dow Jones Industrial Average:** −21.58 pts (−0.04%) to **53,770.27** — essentially flat - **Nasdaq Composite:** +143.04 pts (+0.5%) to **26,588.49** - **Russell 2000 (small caps):** +18.37 pts (+0.6%) to **3,045.48** **What drove the day:** - **Cooler CPI:** July inflation came in at a **3.4% annual rate, in line with expectations and easing from June's 3.5%** (monthly +0.1%). That raised bets the Fed will **hold rates steady in September** — odds of no hike jumped to **60.1% from 51.6%** the prior day, per the CME FedWatch tool ([Yahoo Finance](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/live/stock-market-today-wednesday-august-12-dow-sp-500-nasdaq-cpi-report-091555133.html); [Barron's](https://www.barrons.com/livecoverage/stock-market-news-today-081226)). - **AI earnings surge:** Stocks like **Nvidia, Super Micro Computer**, and **Lumentum** powered the Nasdaq higher on signals that businesses keep spending heavily on AI infrastructure ([AP News](https://apnews.com/article/wall-street-stocks-dow-nasdaq-c2b9200bd737220ef848a37ffea21f95); [Barron's](https://www.barrons.com/livecoverage/stock-market-news-today-081226)). Other notable movers: Cisco (~+2.9%), Coherent (~+8.2%), Cerebras (~+11.6%) after earnings ([Yahoo Finance](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/live/stock-market-today-wednesday-august-12-dow-sp-500-nasdaq-cpi-report-091555133.html)). - **Treasury yields eased** after the data — 2-year yield dipped just below 4.2%, 10-year down to 4.68% ([Barron's](https://www.barrons.com/livecoverage/stock-market-news-today-081226)). - **Geopolitics:** Ongoing US–Iran tensions over the Strait of Hormuz kept oil elevated (Brent near $90/barrel) and weighed on bitcoin ([Yahoo Finance](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/live/stock-market-today-wednesday-august-12-dow-sp-500-nasdaq-cpi-report-091555133.html)). - **Looking ahead:** Traders turned their attention to Thursday morning's **July PPI (producer price index)** report ([Barron's](https://www.barrons.com/livecoverage/stock-market-news-today-081226)). **Bigger picture (per AP):** For the year, the S&P 500 is up **13.2%**, the Dow **+11.9%**, the Nasdaq **+14.4%**, and the Russell 2000 **+22.7%**.