US inflation, sales data cool Fed hike bets; stocks hit records
The S&P 500 and Russell 2000 set fresh highs as July CPI rose 0.1% and 3.4% annually, PPI was flat, and retail sales fell 0.6% versus a 0.1% consensus gain.
The S&P 500 notched its 27th record close of 2026 above 7,800 on Thursday and the Russell 2000 — the benchmark for small caps — also marked fresh all-time highs as strong earnings and benign inflation data cooled fears of an imminent Fed rate hike. 5% and in line with consensus. 5%. Rate-hike pricing collapsed on the back of it.
Futures put the probability of a September increase near 25% by Friday, down from above 60% in the first days of August. A hold is now the base case. Storage Owned The Leaderboard Sandisk Corp. 7% weekly gain, now up more than 60% since July’s lows.
The catalyst was Wednesday’s investor day, where management put the global flash market at $300 billion in 2026 and $500 billion in 2027 and the board cleared an additional $14 billion of buybacks. Super Micro Computer Inc. 2% after Monday’s fiscal fourth-quarter report disclosed a record $60 billion order backlog, including a co-build with Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: SPCX ), and gross margins roughly double prior guidance.
3%, with high-capacity drive capacity sold out for 2026 and hyperscalers already contracting into 2027 and 2028. Read Also: SanDisk Surges 55% From its July Low: Wall Street Just Got a New Roadmap Guidance Did The Damage On The Other End Tapestry Inc. 5%, and it was not the quarter that did it. 32 beat, and the dividend went up 16%.
5 billion implied mid-single-digit growth against 14% delivered last year, with Kate Spade still contracting. Coherent Corp. 3% in a give-back week after a 44% run, despite a fiscal fourth quarter that beat with data center and communications revenue up 59%. First Solar Inc.
8% without a company-specific headline. 1% consensus gain, with gasoline responsible for much of the shortfall and discretionary categories holding. 5 estimate and breaking a two-month improvement. 3%.
Next week, Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT ) reports Wednesday and Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ: WMT ) follows Thursday, both before the open. Between them they will say whether the caution in the surveys has reached the register.
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