By Alexa LoMonaco
Publication Date: 2026-08-15 14:22:00
No surprises on inflation and new financing developments in the artificial intelligence trade drove the record-breaking action on Wall Street last week. The S & P 500 and Nasdaq both dropped modestly Friday but managed to post their third straight winning weeks. The S & P 500 rose above 7,800 during Thursday’s session for the first time ever. It closed at a record. The Dow bucked the trend, falling nearly 0.6% for the week. Here’s a closer look at what drove the market. Cooler inflation gives the Fed room to wait Two closely watched inflation reports helped fuel the week’s market gains by easing concerns that the Federal Reserve will need to raise interest rates at its September meeting. Building on the prior week’s weaker-than-expected jobs report , the consumer price index on Wednesday showed an increase of 0.1% in July, while the annual inflation rate eased to 3.4%. Both were in line with estimates. Jim called the report ” very benign .” The following day, the producer price index came in unchanged for the month, cooler than the 0.2% increase economists expected. On an annual basis, the headline PPI increased 4.7%. Together, the reports offered further evidence that inflation is moderating, even as it remains above the Fed’s 2% target. Treasury yields moved lower as traders dialed back expectations for a September rate hike. By the end of the week, markets were pricing in a 67% chance that the Fed would keep its benchmark rate unchanged, up from 55% a week earlier,…
