Wednesday was a day of two stories, and both were good for stocks. First, a parade of AI infrastructure companies delivered earnings that were so strong they made the rest of the market look like it was standing still. Second, the July inflation report came in exactly where economists expected, which is about the best you can hope for when the Federal Reserve is trying to decide whether to hike rates again.
The July consumer price index rose 0.1% month-over-month and 3.4% year-over-year, both in line with forecasts and a second straight annual deceleration from June's 3.5%. Core CPI, which strips out food and energy, rose 0.2% on the month and cooled to 2.5% annually, the softest in five months. Energy inflation slowed to a four-month low of 14.7%, with gasoline prices down 2.9% on the month. Markets remain split on whether the Fed hikes 25 basis points in September, but the print removed the tail risk that forced the question.
Treasury yields eased after the inflation data. The 10-year yield fell to 4.67%, down 2 basis points, while the policy-sensitive 2-year dropped 3 basis points to 4.20% and the 30-year edged down 1 basis point to 5.24%. Lower yields are generally good for stocks, especially growth and tech names that are valued on future earnings.
The S&P 500 rose 0.2% to 7,744.94, holding just below its record close from last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was effectively flat at 53,806.41, up 0.1%. The Nasdaq 100 outperformed, rising 0.7% to 29,717.90 on the back of chip strength. Within Magnificent Seven stocks, Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) climbed 2.8%.
Wednesday's Performance In Major US Indices
| Index | Last | % Change |
|---|
| S&P 500 | 7,744.94 | +0.2% |
| Dow Jones | 53,806.41 | +0.1% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 29,717.90 | +0.7% |
| Russell 2000 | 3,041.43 | +0.5% |
Updated by 12:20 PM ET
According to market data:
- The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) gained 0.2%.
- The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) edged up 0.1%.
- The Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) climbed 0.8%.
- The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) rose 0.5%.
Optics and Chips Rally
The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) led all sectors with a 1.5% gain, extending its month-to-date advance to 7.8%. It was the only sector moving with conviction. At the other end, the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLC) fell 1.2%, dragged by Meta Platforms Inc. (META) and Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL), while the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY) shed 1.0% as The Home Depot Inc. (HD) and Lowe's Companies Inc. (LOW) dropped about 2% apiece.
Industry-level dispersion was even starker. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) surged 2.5%, the day's standout, while the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX) added 1.1% and the Vanguard Real Estate ETF (VNQ) rose 1.0%. On the losing side, the iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF (ITB) tumbled 1.9%, the Invesco Water Resources ETF (PHO) fell 1.3% and the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) dropped 1.0%.
CoreWeave Inc. (CRWV) was Wednesday's top gainer, soaring 19.0% to $107.43 after Tuesday evening's second-quarter print showed revenue up 112% year-over-year to $2.58 billion, a revenue backlog of roughly $104 billion, third-quarter revenue guidance of $3.4 billion to $3.6 billion and a raised year-end active power target of more than 1.85 gigawatts. Full-year 2026 revenue is now guided to $12.4 billion to $13.2 billion.
Lumentum Holdings Inc. (LITE) jumped 14.3% after fiscal fourth-quarter adjusted EPS of $3.23 beat the $2.95 consensus and revenue more than doubled to $1.01 billion, up 109%. Ciena Corp. (CIEN) rallied 13.2% to $438.70, a pure read-across from Lumentum's AI-driven strength. Viavi Solutions Inc. (VIAV) gained 11.0%, Fabrinet (FN) rose 10.4%, Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd. (CRDO) added 9.1% and Coherent Corp. (COHR) climbed 8.9%.
Super Micro Computer Inc. (SMCI) advanced 13.6% after fiscal fourth-quarter net sales of $11.1 billion, gross margin of 17.5% versus 9.9% in the prior quarter, diluted EPS of $1.62, more than $60 billion of new orders booked in the quarter and fiscal 2027 revenue guidance running as high as $72 billion.
H&R Block Inc. (HRB) was the day's only non-AI name near the top, rallying 15.2% after fiscal fourth-quarter EPS of $2.30 topped the $2.23 estimate on roughly $1.1 billion of revenue, fiscal 2027 adjusted EPS guidance of $6.04 to $6.24 came in above the $5.86 consensus at the midpoint, and management lifted the dividend 10%.
The chip complex rode the same wave. Micron Technology Inc. (MU) jumped 6.6%, Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) rose 5.2%, Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) gained 5.1%, and Intel Corp. (INTC) rose 3.2%. SK Hynix Inc. (SKHY) soared over 7% amid fresh stakes taken by Singapore's Temasek Holdings Pte.
On the downside, AECOM (ACM) was the worst performer in the Russell 1000, sliding 7.2% to $62.21 as investors kept punishing a quarter that delivered a $0.50 per-share loss against $1.51 consensus and a fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS guidance cut. Lyft Inc. (LYFT) fell 5.6%, extending the post-earnings de-rating that followed its Aug. 6 report amid persistent autonomous-vehicle competition concerns. The pressure was industry-wide: Uber Technologies Inc. (UBER) was the worst S&P 100 performer, down 4.0%.
