Daily digest · 08-13-2026
Thursday, Aug 13, 2026, then tomorrow
S&P 500 +0.69% to 777.84, Nasdaq 100 +1.17% to 732.11, with chip and AI names driving outperformance. The catalyst was flat July PPI at 8:30 AM, a second consecutive cool inflation print, which the headlines explicitly link to the equity rally and the S&P crossing 7,800 for the first time. Communication Services led all sectors at +2.06% (XLC 112.57), lifted by META +~2%; Technology +1.00% aided by DELL, NVDA, and AMD. Cisco was the notable wreck, -8-9% despite a Q4 beat, on margin concerns. VIX edged up 0.08 to 14.63, barely registering despite the move higher. The AI capex narrative (AMD $5B bond sale, Nvidia $500B financing, Databricks $190B valuation, Lenovo AI pipeline +157%) is the multi-day carry-forward theme.
Breadth
8 of 11 sectors higher
Volatility
VIX 14.63 (+0.08)
as of 08-13-2026
Sector tape
Today's rotation
One-day total return of the 11 SPDR sector ETFs.
| 📡 Communication Svcs | | +2.06% |
| 🏢 Real Estate | | +1.43% |
| 🧺 Consumer Staples | | +1.06% |
| 💻 Technology | | +1.00% |
| 🏦 Financials | | +0.59% |
| 🛍️ Consumer Discretionary | | +0.47% |
| 💡 Utilities | | +0.40% |
| ⚡ Energy | | +0.05% |
| 🏥 Health Care | | -0.03% |
| 🏭 Industrials | | -0.05% |
| ⛏️ Materials | | -0.55% |
Catalysts
What drove it (and may carry over)
Curated from the day's market wire.
▲US producer prices were flat in July, below the expected 0.2% increase, reinforcing signs of cooling inflation.
▲Chip stocks helped push the S&P 500 above 7,800 for the first time as a second straight cool inflation print boosted equities.
▲JPMorgan says Oracle has more than 30% upside as the market underestimates its transformation into an AI infrastructure provider.ORCL
·AMD plans a record $5 billion bond sale to fund AI infrastructure investment, refinance debt and support partnerships with Microsoft and Anthropic.AMD
▲Databricks closed a $5 billion funding round at a $190 billion valuation, with its revenue run-rate surpassing $7 billion.
▲Meta Platforms shares rose nearly 2% as investors embraced its $145 billion AI infrastructure push and new Muse AI model releases.META
▲Dell shares rallied to a new all-time high after Lenovo's AI server pipeline jumped 157% to $54 billion, boosting Nvidia demand optimism.DELLNVDA
▲Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said the company has lined up $500 billion in financing, framing its chips as an investable asset for lenders.NVDA
▲SpaceX short interest fell to about 11% of shares from a peak of 34% last week as the stock rebounded more than 40% off its low.SPCX
▼Cisco shares fell 8-9% despite a fiscal Q4 earnings beat and stronger-than-expected guidance, as margin concerns weighed on the stock.CSCO
▼A shareholder lawsuit against UnitedHealth alleges $277 billion in lost value, Medicare fraud and $237 million in insider stock sales.UNH
▼MARA Holdings shares fell Thursday, underperforming the broader tech sector amid weak technicals and a bearish analyst rating.MARA
▼Cellebrite shares plunged after second-quarter results missed top-line expectations and the company cut its Q3 and full-year 2026 revenue guidance.CLBT
▼Dillard's shares fell despite a Q2 earnings beat that was largely driven by $37.2 million in tariff refunds boosting profit and margins.DDS
Tomorrow
Friday, Aug 14, 2026
What is scheduled, with ET times. Not a forecast of how it lands.
Retail sales print at 8:30 AM ET, flagged high-impact, is the sole scheduled macro event and will front-load volatility into the open. Coming one session after a cool PPI, the retail sales number will be read as a demand-health check against the cooling inflation backdrop. No earnings are scheduled. Watch whether AI-infrastructure names hold today's gains through the data, and whether Materials (XLB -0.55%, the only meaningful laggard) continues to diverge from the broader tape.
By timeframe
Session structure
How the calendar shapes each holding period. Descriptive only: not advice, and not a recommendation to trade anything.
⚡ ScalpRetail sales is scheduled for 8:30 AM ET Friday, categorized as high-impact. That timing concentrates volatility into the pre-market and the first 15-30 minutes of regular trading, when bid-ask spreads are typically at their widest. After the initial reaction settles, conditions tend to normalize through mid-morning.
☀️ Day tradeThe 8:30 AM ET retail sales release is the defining scheduled event for Friday's session. The print follows a flat PPI on Thursday, so markets will be comparing demand strength against the recent cooling in producer prices. Communication Services and Technology were Thursday's strongest sectors; Materials was the weakest. How each reacts to the retail number provides the day's primary structural context.
🌊 SwingA multi-day position initiated around Thursday's close carries retail sales risk at 8:30 AM ET Friday as the only scheduled macro event within a several-day window. Breadth was 8 of 11 sectors positive on Thursday. VIX closed at 14.63. No earnings are scheduled for Friday.
🌲 Long termThursday's flat July PPI is the second consecutive month of cooling inflation data. At the long horizon, the sequence of CPI and PPI readings matters more than any single day's equity move. The AI infrastructure investment cycle continued to generate large data points: a $190 billion private valuation for Databricks, a $5 billion bond issuance by AMD, and a $500 billion financing figure cited by Nvidia's CEO.
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