Market Review: August 13, 2026

Closing Recap

Thursday, August 13, 2026

The S&P 500 hit an intraday record high topping 7,800 for the first time (7,816.70), boosted by technology stocks, as a drop in crude prices lifted risk appetite and investors analyzed a softer-than-expected producer price (PPI) inflation reading and what it means for future Fed decisions. Brent crude futures fell over -2% after six consecutive sessions of gains as investors assessed prospects for weaker global demand this year and higher U.S. crude stocks. Tech was buoyed by memory (SNDK after Investor Day, MU, SKHY), semis (SMCI, INTC, ARM) hyperscalers (META,MSFT) among others. Even software got a pop late day following a media report of M&A interest for WDAY, boosting the cloud/SaaS software names too (HUBS, MDB, TEAM). The S&P did ended around the 7,800 as it was another strong showing once again as fear remains non-existent with the CBOE Volatility index (VIX) hitting a new 2026 low today before bouncing partially. News out of the Middle East was relatively quiet as oil prices dipped. Producer price (PPI) figures came in at 4.7%, below expectations of a 4.9% gain in July. This follows benign July consumer inflation data (CPI) Wednesday that strengthened expectations that the Fed would hold interest rates steady at its next meeting. Full steam ahead this week with major averages broadly higher as we hit mid-August and into retailer earnings next week.

• Weekly Jobless Claims climbed to 209,000 from 200,000 prior and vs consensus 202,000; the 4-week moving average unchanged at 199,000 (previous 198,750) while continued claims fell to 1.777M from 1.799M prior week (vs. consensus 1.795M).

• December gold prices fell -$47.10 or 1.05% to settle at $4,420.40 an ounce while September silver prices dipped -$0.71 or 1.08%$ to settle at $64.99 an ounce despite a pullback in Treasury yields and the dollar as investors focused on high risk names in tech with QQQ and SPY making new all-time highs.

• Discount/Specialty retail: YETI Q2 adjusted EPS beat of $0.67 versus the $0.55 estimate, aided by a $45.6 million IEEPA tariff refund that added 780 bps of gross margin benefit/ raises FY26 adjusted EPS view to $2.94-$3.00 from $2.83-$2.89 while maintains 2026 sales growth of 7%-8%. FIVE was upgraded from Hold to Buy at Jefferies and raised tgt to $350 from $210 saying recent comp strength is largely attributed to squish-driven demand, but this overlooks the structural improvements in the business.
• Luxury retailers: TPR shares declined after guided FY27 revenue to $8.4-$8.5B (vs. est. $8.47B) and adj EPS to $7.80-$7.90 and flagged a mid-20% embedded tariff rate on U.S. inventory receipts with a neutral net year-over-year tariff impact. Weakness at Kate Spade and cautious spending in North America fueled concerns about momentum beyond its Coach brand. North America revenue rose 7% on a constant-currency basis, compared with 8% growth a year earlier and about 20% in the prior quarter, reflecting a broader slowdown in spending amid growing macroeconomic uncertainty.
• Food & Beverage sector: KDP was upgraded to Buy at HSBC citing more clarity on new structures and governance issues receding Easing overhang: KDP is progressing well with the integration of JDE Peet’s and the separation preparation of its Beverage and Coffee businesses, targeted for early 2027. In grocery, GO reported 2Q adj EPS of $0.20 (vs. Street $0.13) on -0.3% comps, including a 50bp headwind from Easter shift as Grocery comps accelerated to 3.5%, and GO sees further opportunity to drive momentum in deli and frozen. CCEP was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS citing valuation for the downgrade with the shares up 19% year-to-date. CAKE, DRI, EAT among restaurant/dining stocks hitting 52-week highs today as group remains strong.

• Leisure sector: ticket sale company STUB shares fell after reported a second-quarter loss, as surging costs offset the boost in revenue that came from the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Higher GMS of $3.1B (+34% Y/Y) and Revenue of $573M (+33% Y/Y) surpassed analyst forecasts. While the company raised its FY26 GMS guidance modestly…but H2 guidance suggests a possible contraction in GMS ests by about 6%. Shares were downgraded from Neutral to Underperform at Bank America.

• Energy sector: SM was upgraded from Equal Weight to Overweight at Wells Fargo and raised tgt to $47 from $32 due to 1) easing of Applied NAV discount; 2) well cost adjustments in Uinta, Midland, and DJ; and 3) activity assumption changes, particularly in the Uinta with NAV accretion due to higher front loaded oil weighting on a corporate level.

• Consumer Finance: Bill Ackman unveiled six new holdings including Visa (V), MA, SPGI, ICE in the financial space saying he acquired shares starting in the second quarter that will be held in his investment funds including his newest offering Pershing Square USA (PSUS), which was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in April (non-financial picks were NFLX, ALC).
• Crypto/blockchain sector: BLSH swung to Q2 net loss from profit year ago as posted Q2 EPS loss (-$1.78) vs. $0.93 y/y as subscription, services & other revenue reached a record $62.7M and overall adj revs $92.6M vs. est. $87.4M; sees 2026 subscription, services & other revenue $225M-$230M. FIGR reported Q2 EPS $0.35 vs est $0.23 and sales $225.58M vs. est. $207.7M.
• FinTech/Payments: ADYEY shares rose, helping boost the space as now expects its FY net revenue to grow between 21% and 23% in 2026, having previously guided for 20% to 22% growth; Net revenue in the six months to June grew 21% on a constant currency basis to €1.30B, slightly above market expectations.
• Mortgage Service sector: OPEN announces a $650M convertible offering of 0% convert Senior notes due 2030, a $158M repurchase of about 45.3M shares/conversion price ~$4.71, no net dilution below ~$10.38; BETR was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Cantor saying geopolitical uncertainty is likely to drive more persistent inflation and higher interest rates, resulting in a more challenging backdrop for its home lending products. Group benefited from lower rates today (COMP, RKT).
• Insurance sector: ARX to be acquired by private equity firm Thoma Bravo in an all-cash deal worth more than $4 billion deal, the insurance marketplace said.

• Defense & Drone sector: ONDS Q2 revs $83.8M vs. est. $68M while EPS loss of (-$0.19) missed the (-$0.08) loss estimate; posted backlog of approximately $613M as of June 30, 2026, and raised its 2026 revenue target to $525M-550M from prior at least $390M and vs. consensus of $525.03M.
• E&C sector: MWH boosts FY26 revenue view to $3.87B-$3.97B from $3.72B-$3.82B (est. $3.78B) and raises FY26 adjusted EBITDA view to $485M-$505M from $435M-$455M as they are updating their financial outlook for 2026 reflecting first half results

• Paper & Packaging sector: AMBP shares rose after a filing that Ardagh Holdings has instructed its advisors to prepare for a potential sale of Ardagh Metal. Ardagh Holdings has a 76% stake in Ardagh Metal Packaging (AMBP), which has a market cap of $3 billion. IN research, RBC Capital downgraded OI to Sector Perform from Outperform saying a soft glass volume outlook limits the company’s organic growth while faces price and cost headwinds from competitor oversupply  and upgraded SLGN to Outperform from Sector Perform (tgt to $58 from $51) as believes the company’s dispensing and specialty closures unit, which represents 50% of EBIT, is beginning to inflect positively.
• Metals & Mining: PAAS Q2 gold production missed while silver production was in line and the miner said it expects to be at the lower end of gold production guidance in 2026 due to changes to mine practices at Jacobina and mining assumptions at El Penon.

• Ai/neoclouds: Databricks raises $5 billion in financing at $190 billion valuation. Databricks has closed a $5 billion strategic funding round at a $190 billion valuation, a significant increase from its previous $134 billion valuation six months ago. The AI and data platform company reported a $7 billion revenue run rate with over 80% year-over-year growth.
• Media sector: shares of NFLX advanced after Bill Ackman unveils his investment funds acquired shares starting in Q2; the stake will be held in his funds including newly listed Pershing Square USA (PSUS). Ackman previously held Netflix briefly in 2022 before selling at a loss; he says the new investments reflect his view that their earnings are poised for strong growth.

• Computer Hardware sector: PC makers climb after China’s Lenovo (LNVGY) beats Q1 revenue estimates helping boost shares of DELL, HPQ/expects to reach its $100B annual rev target ahead of schedule and plans to launch an AI PC powered by Nvidia RTX chips later this year; IBM announces partnership with OpenAI to help enterprises deploy AI at scale across core business operations and complex workflows.
• IT Services & Consulting: AKAM was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JP Morgan and also raises PT to $158 from $132 saying Akamai is competing with and winning deals for inference capacity against hyperscalers and NeoClouds. DT agreed to acquire Arize in a cash-and-stock deal valued at approximately $915M. Under the agreement, Dynatrace will pay about $815M in cash.
• Optical sector: after stellar results from LITE the day prior boosted the whole optical/photonics sector (CIEN, AAOI, COHR, GLW, FN), the group takes a breather today as COHR results, while strong, did not live up to the LITE results the day prior. Jefferies noted the gross margin guide of 40.5%, while ahead of Street, likely landed a touch softer than some expected given the higher revenue guide and the positive margin read-throughs from LITE last night.
• Software sector: WDAY shares spiked late afternoon after Reuters reported Private equity firm Silver Lake is in talks to acquire the company, which has a market value of about $43B, in a deal that would rank among the largest software buyouts in history. https://tinyurl.com/vzn5rccs (the headlines boosted the rest of the cloud/SaaS software names like HUBS, MDB, TEAM, MNDY among others). CLBT shares fell after in-line Q2 results but guides Q3 revenue $145M-$148M, vs. consensus $150.3M and cuts FY26 revenue view to $555M-$561M from $565M-$571M (est. $567.98M) and lowers FY26 ARR view to $550M-$560M from $567M-$573M, named new CEO.
• EMS Sector: KE Q4 revenue was below consensus but posted a sequential improvement in margins supported upside to adj. operating income.

• SNDK shares surged on the day, leading memory chip makers MU, SKHY, WDC higher after hosting Investor Day saying expects to collect $93.9B in total contract value from 8 customers over Life of contracts; said flash memory market will grow to over $300B in 2026 to nearly $500B in 2027
• DeepSeek is sharply raising prices for its V4 models starting Aug. 16; V4-Flash output pricing during peak hours rises to $1.32 per 1M tokens from $0.28, more than 4x higher; V4-Pro will cost $3.96 per 1M output tokens at peak vs. $0.87 currently. Off-peak pricing will be half those rates, as DeepSeek shifts to dynamic pricing to move usage away from congested periods.
• AOSL shares fall on results as Q4 adj. EPS ($0.13) vs. est. ($0.24); revenue $170.4Mm vs. est. $168Mm little better but Q1 revenue guidance $166Mm-$186Mm vs. est. $180.5Mm
• AMAT is expected to report earnings tonight in the semicap equipment sector.