AI Earnings Bonanza and Cooling Inflation Leave S&P 500 Mixed as Middle East Deadlock Weighs

U.S. stocks closed mixed on August 12 as strong artificial-intelligence earnings powered the technology sector higher but geopolitical tensions in the Middle East capped broader gains. The S&P 500 information technology sector jumped 1.2%, led by CoreWeave, which surged 19% after the AI cloud company doubled its revenue from a year ago and lifted its annual capital-spending forecast, beating second-quarter estimates. Super Micro Computer rallied more than 7.5% after issuing fiscal first-quarter revenue guidance of $14.5 billion to $15.5 billion, far above the Wall Street consensus of $11.68 billion, while earnings-per-share guidance of $1.01 to $1.10 also topped the anticipated 76 cents.

Nebius Group jumped 25% on its second-quarter results, and data-center operators IREN and Applied Digital rose 7% and 3.4%, respectively. July consumer price index data came in largely in line with expectations, reinforcing bets that the Federal Reserve will hold interest rates steady at its September meeting, which would mark a sixth consecutive pause. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed, while the Nasdaq composite gained around 0.5%, with the overall market held back by an unresolved conflict in the Middle East.