CPI Day Arrives After Two Down Sessions — Market Briefing, August 12, 2026

CPI Day Arrives After Two Down Sessions — August 12, 2026

Stocks head into Wednesday having pulled back for a second straight session from last week's record highs, with the S&P 500, Nasdaq and Dow all lower Tuesday while the Russell 2000 held up. Today hinges almost entirely on the 8:30am ET July CPI print, which follows a surprisingly soft jobs report and arrives with oil still elevated on the US-Iran standoff over the Strait of Hormuz. Add a loaded after-the-close earnings slate — Cisco, Coherent and Cerebras all report tonight — and traders are bracing for a session that can move fast in either direction.

Market setup

Key levels (dealer gamma)

Call walls mark strikes where dealer hedging may slow rallies; put walls mark strikes where hedging flows may cushion dips. These are options-derived positioning estimates, not guarantees.

Today's market calendar (ET)

Notable earnings

Already reported: Nebius Group (NBIS) reported premarket, indicated near $211 versus a $193 prior close, roughly a +9% reaction.

Still ahead before the open: Trimble (TRMB) and Amcor (AMCR) round out the premarket slate.

After the close: Cisco Systems (options-implied move ±6.8%), Coherent (±9.3%) and Cerebras Systems (±9.9%) headline tonight, alongside Pan American Silver, Enovix and Virgin Galactic.

Congress corner

• Rep. Michael Rulli sold Crown Castle (CCI), $1,001–$15,000, 8/6/2026
• Rep. Kevin Hern (joint account) sold Estée Lauder, Kenvue, Comcast, Diageo and Organon, $1,001–$15,000 each, 8/5/2026
• Rep. April McClain Delaney (child account) bought C.H. Robinson, Liberty Media Formula One and Life Time Group while selling Corpay and STERIS, 7/31/2026
• Rep. Nicholas Begich III (spouse) sold Palo Alto Networks, $1,001–$15,000, 7/31/2026

These are delayed disclosures required by the STOCK Act, not real-time trades.

Social-media trends

Reddit/WSB chatter is concentrated in Rocket Lab and Berkshire Hathaway, both flagged with bullish sentiment; GameStop mentions spiked 118% in 24 hours and Nvidia is also seeing a surge in chatter.

Index snapshot

Key themes

1. CPI day arrives after back-to-back losses. The S&P 500 fell 0.32% Tuesday for a second straight decline, the Nasdaq slid 0.60% and the Dow lost 0.34%, while the Russell 2000 gained 0.32%. July CPI lands at 8:30am ET with consensus at +0.2% m/m / 3.4% y/y headline and +0.2% m/m / 2.5% y/y core.
2. Oil and Iran keep energy bid, everything else on edge. WTI is holding near $83-84 as the Strait of Hormuz standoff drags on; Energy was the lone S&P sector gainer Monday, +4.6%.
3. AI capex financing headlines. Nvidia arranged roughly $500 billion privately with banks for AI infrastructure buildout, and Intel raised its stock offering from $15 billion to $20 billion.
4. Dealer gamma points to a contained tape. SPY's call wall sits at 775 and put wall at 700; QQQ's call wall is at 730 and put wall at 700.
5. A loaded after-the-close earnings slate. Cisco, Coherent and Cerebras all report tonight with elevated options-implied moves.

Flow highlights

What to Watch

The 8:30am CPI print is the session's pivot point — a hot number likely pressures growth stocks and lifts yields further, while a soft one could send the S&P back toward its record close. After the bell, watch Cisco for enterprise networking demand signals, Coherent for datacenter optics trends, and Cerebras for AI chip commentary; all three carry implied moves near or above 7%. Keep an eye on WTI crude and any Hormuz headlines, since energy has been the market's главный swing factor this week.

Sign-off

That's the setup heading into the bell. Check back tomorrow for a full recap of how CPI, dealer positioning and tonight's earnings played out.