Daily digest · 08-11-2026
Tuesday, Aug 11, 2026, then tomorrow
Large-caps slipped modestly: S&P 500 -0.32% to 770.52, Nasdaq 100 -0.35% to 718.30, Dow -0.34% to 537.28. The headline drivers were a tech-sector selloff and Strait of Hormuz uncertainty after Iran said the strait will not reopen until its conditions are met, pushing US crude above $83 a barrel. Russell 2000 bucked the trend, +0.34% to 300.99, with Energy (+1.17%) and Utilities (+1.10%) leading in a classic risk-rotation pattern. Only 4 of 11 sectors closed green; Real Estate was the worst at -0.83%. The Hormuz situation and tomorrow's CPI at 8:30 AM ET carry directly into Wednesday's open.
Breadth
4 of 11 sectors higher
Volatility
VIX 15.28 (-0.18)
as of 08-11-2026
Catalysts
What drove it (and may carry over)
Curated from the day's market wire.
·The July CPI report due Wednesday is expected to show only a modest increase, a key data point ahead of the Fed's next rate decision.
▲Nvidia has lined up $500 billion in financing as CEO Jensen Huang says its chips are an 'investable asset,' easing investor concerns about AI spending risk.NVDA
▲Riot Platforms signed a $9 billion, 20-year compute deal with Anthropic as the bitcoin miner shifts toward AI infrastructure.RIOT
▲Intel upsized its stock offering to $20 billion, pricing shares at $95 each, as AI-driven demand accelerates.INTC
▲IBM signed a $240 million multi-year deal with Together AI to deploy Nvidia HGX B300 systems for large-scale AI inference.IBMNVDA
▲JPMorgan projects the global semiconductor industry will reach $2.25 trillion by 2027 as AI-driven chip demand spreads beyond memory and Nvidia.NVDAAMDAVGOINTC
▲Phillips 66, Kinder Morgan and HF Sinclair approved a $5 billion Western Gateway pipeline project targeting 230,000 barrels per day of capacity.PSXKMI
▲Archer Aviation shares rose after the company signed definitive agreements to acquire Boeing's Wisk Aero, SkyGrid and Insitu subsidiaries.ACHRBA
▼The S&P 500 posted back-to-back losses as a tech-sector selloff and uncertainty over the Strait of Hormuz weighed on stocks.
▼US crude oil rose above $83 a barrel after Iran said the Strait of Hormuz will not reopen until its conditions are met.
▼AppLovin shares fell after BofA Securities downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy and cut its price target to $400.APP
▼Life360 shares fell 25% after the company's full-year revenue guidance disappointed despite beating Q2 estimates.LIF
▼Upwork cut its 2026 profit forecast, citing AI automation headwinds and weaker new-client additions despite beating Q2 estimates.UPWK
▼Oracle shares dropped 4% Tuesday as traders faded a recent rebound despite analysts staying bullish on AI infrastructure growth.ORCL
Tomorrow
Wednesday, Aug 12, 2026
What is scheduled, with ET times. Not a forecast of how it lands.
July CPI prints at 8:30 AM ET, rated high-impact, and is expected to show only a modest increase per today's headlines. That front-loads nearly all volatility into the pre-market and the first 30-60 minutes of the cash session. CSCO reports after the close (~4:05 PM ET), adding a secondary event that will concentrate activity in that name late in the day. Watch: the CPI number's effect on rate-sensitive sectors (Real Estate lagged -0.83% today), tech's response given the existing two-day losing streak, and crude/energy complex reaction given the open Hormuz headline.
On deck later this week
08-13-2026📊 PPI8:30 AM ET
08-14-2026🛒 Retail sales8:30 AM ET
By timeframe
Session structure
How the calendar shapes each holding period. Descriptive only: not advice, and not a recommendation to trade anything.
⚡ ScalpWednesday's session opens with a high-impact CPI release at 8:30 AM ET, which typically compresses liquidity and widens spreads in the immediate minutes around the number. A secondary event, CSCO earnings at approximately 4:05 PM ET, creates a second concentrated volatility window near the close. The period between those two events is likely to see more normalized tape conditions.
☀️ Day tradeThe two scheduled events, CPI at 8:30 AM ET and CSCO after the close, create clear structural anchors for the session. Today's sector divergence, Energy and Utilities leading while Real Estate and Communication Services lagged, provides the day's baseline leadership map to compare against Wednesday's post-CPI reaction.
🌊 SwingA multi-day position initiated Wednesday carries three consecutive 8:30 AM ET macro prints inside it: CPI Wednesday, PPI Thursday August 13, and Retail Sales Friday August 14. That cluster of high-frequency data makes the August 12-14 window one of the most event-dense of the summer. VIX closed at 15.28, down from 15.46, indicating market-priced risk remains modest heading into that sequence.
🌲 Long termAt the long horizon, Wednesday's CPI is one data point in an ongoing inflation trajectory that shapes the Fed's rate path. The week's full sequence, CPI, PPI, and Retail Sales, together offer a more complete read on the consumer and producer price environment than any single print. The Strait of Hormuz situation is a geopolitical variable that affects energy supply assumptions over a longer duration if it remains unresolved.