Today's Markets in 5 Minutes (2026.08.13)

Wall Street is drifting higher into a wholesale-inflation (PPI) print, with Treasury yields easing and megacap tech leading. AI remains the dominant thread — from the Nvidia-Google-Intel rally and a wave of chip and networking earnings to SK Hynix's $720 billion buildout — while oil and gold cool off and Middle East shipping risk lingers.

1. Nvidia-Google-Intel lead AI rally; Cisco and Cerebras stumble on earnings

Source: Nvidia, Intel, Google: Wall Street is partying like it's 199 (click for the original)

Megacap tech drove the tape, with MarketWatch framing the Nvidia, Intel and Google advance as Wall Street 'partying like it's 1999.' Intraday snapshots showed the Nasdaq up 0.54% and the S&P 500 up 0.26%, with the Dow roughly flat. Nebius, Lumentum and CoreWeave were cited as leaders of the AI rally, while Microsoft broke out to fresh highs.

Earnings sorted winners from losers: Cerebras dropped 14% after its second quarterly report since IPO, and Cisco fell on margin concerns as analysts weighed in, with Coherent and Datadog also flagged as laggards. Lenovo reported profits ahead of expectations on AI PCs and servers, and Bank of America issued what Yahoo called a 'blunt message' to Nvidia investors.

Breadth is narrow and earnings-sensitive, so watch whether AI-adjacent names hold gains after guidance and margin commentary. The '1999' comparison is a sentiment marker, not a forecast — track valuation dispersion between leaders and laggards.

• Nvidia, Intel, Google: Wall Street is partying like it's 1999
• Cerebras stock plunges 14% after second earnings report following IPO
• Cisco's stock falls on margin concerns. Here's what Wall Street analysts are saying.

2. PPI on deck: Treasury yields dip, easing inflation, and a bigger Social Security COLA

Source: Treasury yields dip as Wall Street awaits wholesale inflatio (click for the original)

Traders positioned for a wholesale-inflation (PPI) report, with Treasury yields dipping and CNBC's Morning Squawk citing 'easing inflation pressures.' The 10-year yield was quoted around 4.67% in one market snapshot. New inflation data also points to a larger 2027 Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for retirees.

Abroad, Japan's wholesale inflation stayed hot, which Reuters said bolsters odds of a September Bank of Japan rate hike, while Goldman argued Japan's roughly $1 trillion in reserves leaves 'plenty of capacity' for further yen interventions. Separately, MarketWatch reported that AI-driven portfolio and M&A flows are now moving the foreign-exchange market alongside traditional rate and inflation differentials.

The PPI print and its read-through to the Fed path are the near-term variables to watch, along with the exact COLA figure once finalized. On the BOJ, hot wholesale prices plus intervention capacity are the factors shaping yen and rate expectations.

• Treasury yields dip as Wall Street awaits wholesale inflation data
• Social Security recipients will get more money next year. Here's how much the COLA may boost benefits.
• Japan's wholesale inflation stays hot, bolstering odds of September BOJ hike

3. SK Hynix's $720B memory buildout, CoreWeave, and a Chinese NAND upset

Source: An inside look at SK Hynix's $720 billion AI-fueled buildout (click for the original)

The AI infrastructure story deepened: CNBC detailed SK Hynix's $720 billion buildout to supply enough memory for AI, describing its scale across South Korea. A Chinese firm reportedly topped Micron and Kioxia in shipments of NAND memory chips, and CoreWeave's results were said to counter a key bear case on the AI trade for data-center stocks.

In dealmaking, Bloomberg reported Anthropic is in talks to buy startup Decart for $6 billion, underscoring continued capital flowing into AI capacity and applications.

Memory supply, capex and market share are the metrics to track as the buildout scales — including whether new entrants pressure incumbent chipmakers. Large AI-related deals bear watching for concentration and financing terms rather than as directional signals.

• An inside look at SK Hynix's $720 billion AI-fueled buildout that's taking over South Korea
• This Chinese firm has topped Micron and Kioxia in shipments of crucial NAND memory chips
• CoreWeave counters a key bear case on the AI trade. What it means for our data center stocks

4. Oil drops ~2% on demand worries; gold near $4,450 after ~10% monthly run; Hormuz stays tight

Source: Oil prices drop as investors weigh falling demand against Mi (click for the original)

Oil fell on a weaker demand outlook and higher US inventories, with crude quoted down about 2% near $81 in one snapshot, even as an oil spill near Oman and Middle East tensions kept supply in focus. On Hormuz, CNBC reported traffic near three-month lows and Iran disputing Trump's claim that the strait had reopened, saying it 'remains blocked.'

Gold pulled back from a more-than-two-month peak as investors booked profits, though it was still up nearly 10% month-over-month heading into the PPI report; analysts flagged a technical hurdle before any further advance. Shipping giant Maersk warned that port and trucking bottlenecks could delay deliveries and push up prices, and Ukraine's strike on Russian Black Sea grain terminals prompted warnings about food markets. In jewelry, Pandora said it is betting on platinum despite falling silver prices.

Crude is balancing softer demand signals against Hormuz and Red Sea shipping risk — both are the swing variables. For gold, watch the cited technical level and how the PPI print reshapes real-rate expectations; grain-terminal strikes are a supply factor to monitor for food prices.

• Oil prices drop as investors weigh falling demand against Middle East tensions
• Gold slips from over two-month peak as investors cash in on rally
• Shipping giants warn ports and trucks could hold up deliveries and push up prices

5. Ackman's Netflix-Visa-Mastercard overhaul; Trump trade probe; escrow-interest lawsuit

Source: Ackman unveils six new investments including Netflix, Visa, (click for the original)

Bill Ackman's Pershing Square unveiled six new investments — including Netflix, Visa and Mastercard — in what Yahoo called its biggest portfolio overhaul in years, with Ackman re-entering Netflix after previously exiting the stock. On policy, Democrats led by Sen. Warren demanded Trump disclose his stock managers and explain 'suspicious trades.'

In housing finance, new federal rules could end mortgage escrow interest for some homeowners, and states are suing to block them. And in a niche hedge, a California goat-herding company, Western Grazers, used prediction-market platform Kalshi (with Susquehanna) to offset possible labor-cost increases after a wage exemption expired June 30; owner Tim Arrowsmith estimates costs of at least $70,000 per herder that could rise toward $240,000 per herder under a 2016 wage bill, per California Farm Bureau estimates.

Ackman's disclosed positions are informational, not a recommendation — watch subsequent filings for sizing and changes. The escrow-interest rules and the Trump-trade disclosure demands are policy and governance threads whose outcomes are still unsettled.

• Ackman unveils six new investments including Netflix, Visa, Mastercard in biggest portfolio overhaul in years
• Democrats demand Trump reveal stock managers, explain suspicious trades
• How Susquehanna and Kalshi are helping this company offset a change in California law

Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not investment advice. Investment decisions are your own responsibility.
This digest summarizes the past 24 hours of news from public RSS feeds. See the linked sources for details.