News Bulletin
Friday, August 14, 2026
Evening Edition

Economic Numbers:

Time	Event	Actual	Forecast	Previous
Friday, August 14, 2026
8:30	Core Retail Sales (MoM) (Jul)	-0.30%	0.20%	-0.20%
8:30	Retail Sales (MoM) (Jul)	-0.60%	0.10%	0.20%
8:30	Retail Control (MoM) (Jul)	-0.40%	0.30%	0.40%
13:00	U.S. Baker Hughes Oil Rig Count	455.00		454.00
13:00	U.S. Baker Hughes Total Rig Count	593.00		588.00
15:00	U.S. President Trump Speaks

Indices

	CLOSE	50 DMA	200 DMA
DJIA	53,732.53	52,344.00	49,411.96
NASDAQ	26,729.16	25,906.16	24,178.79
S&P 500	7,785.76	7,512.35	7,073.35

Earnings Calendar:

(EPS: Earning Per Share / Rev: Revenue / Mkt Cap: market Capital/ BMO: Before Market Opening /AMC: After Market Close)

COMPANY	EPS Act	EPS Fore	Rev Act	Rev Fore	Mkt Cap	Time
AimcoAIV:US	-	-	-	-	$6.48B	PM
HUBHUBG:US	-	0.29	-	941.12M	$2.62B
BuckleBKE:US	-	0.89	-	315.66M	$2.22B	AM

Market News:

Wall Street ended slightly lower on Friday, with market participants digesting an unexpectedly weak retail sales report. The main indexes put in a mixed weekly performance, though the benchmark S&P 500 index advanced after a string of economic data helped to reduce Federal Reserve rate hike expectations.

The S&P inched lower by 0.2% to close at 7,785.15 points, the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite slipped 0.3% to settle at 26,729.16 points, and the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.2% to conclude at 53,732.53 points.

For the week, the S&P was up 0.4%, while the Nasdaq added 0.1%. The Dow declined 0.6%.

Inflation and retail sales data boosts Wall Street to a record

Much of the focus this week was on key U.S. inflation data and on Friday’s retail sales for cues about monetary policy outlook. The indicators have painted a picture of moderating price pressures and a slowdown in consumer spending, and, coupled with an unexpectedly weak jobs report last week, have taken the pressure off the Fed to immediately tighten policy.

Wednesday’s consumer price index (CPI) readings showed a deceleration in annual headline and core figures in July. Thursday’s producer price index (PPI) echoed a similar trend, with annual headline and core indexes ticking up at a slower pace.

On Friday, the U.S. Census Bureau said retail sales in July fell 0.6% M/M to $763.6 billion, compared to a consensus estimate for a rise of 0.1%. Core retail sales decreased 0.3% M/M, versus a forecast of 0.2%.

Rate-sensitive U.S. Treasury yields slipped on Wednesday and Thursday after the CPI and PPI data as traders snapped up bonds. Yields bounced back on Friday, moving the benchmark 10-year yield into positive territory for the week, but the shorter-end 2-year yield was still set for a weekly loss.

The fall in rate hike bets also helped Wall Street hit a record high this week, with the S&P topping 7,800 points for the first time ever on Thursday.

Separately on Friday, the University of Michigan said U.S. consumer sentiment slipped to 51 in August from 55.2 in July, ending two consecutive months of improvement. Year-ahead inflation expectations ticked up to 4.3% from 4.2%.

Chip stocks cool off

Looking away from the economic calendar, the technology sector was another major theme for the week. After sliding in June, the artificial intelligence trade made a strong comeback at the end of July and into the beginning of August. Chip stocks, which have been the primary driver of the AI trade, logged a stellar start to this month after a more than 20% slide in July. They lost steam this week amid a lack of major AI-related earnings, though they still eked out gains.

The tech stories of the week included Sandisk, which jumped nearly 14% on Thursday after the memory major provided an upbeat long-term outlook at an analyst event, and the stock continued that momentum into Friday, rising 7.4%. Memory peers Western Digital and Micron Technology also rose.

On the other hand, Cisco Systems slid on Thursday, after the networking equipment giant’s strong quarterly results were overshadowed by sky-high expectations. Similarly lofty projections weighed on shares of Applied Materials on Friday, despite the chipmaking tools supplier outlining plans to ramp up manufacturing to satisfy runaway AI-driven demand.

Notably, Nvidia made some news in the AI space this week. The world’s largest company signed memorandums of understanding to mobilize a staggering $500 billion in third-party capital for AI infrastructure, teaming up with some of the biggest players in global finance: Apollo, BlackRock, Blackstone, Brookfield, Goldman Sachs, and KKR. Nvidia stock notched a weekly gain of 0.5%.

Oil advance weighs on the market

Turning to the Middle East, a weekly climb in oil prices weighed on Wall Street. Brent crude futures, the global benchmark, were last up 1.8% to $88.60 a barrel, and had added 5.9% for the week.

The rise was driven by an ongoing impasse between the U.S. and Iran over control of the critical Strait of Hormuz. Both sides have independently asserted authority over the vital waterway, with Tehran insisting that Washington meet certain demands including the cessation of hostilities on all fronts and the unfreezing of Iranian assets before the chokepoint can be reopened.

The U.S. is now considering maintaining its naval blockade of Iran indefinitely as efforts to end the conflict and restore normal shipping through the strait remain stalled. Tanker traffic through the corridor has slowed to a trickle, leading to concerns about oil supply disruptions. Those worries have been compounded by attacks on ships in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait - another key Gulf shipping lane - by Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.

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