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Live Nasdaq Composite: Market Sentiment Remains Hopeful on Cooling Inflation Signals, AI Earnings

By Gerelyn Terzo · Updated Aug 12, 1:06pm ET · Published Aug 12, 9:39am ET

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Jim Cramer on X: “I thought Intrator was VERY strong and made the case for certain that Coreweave's stock…”

Jim Cramer @jimcramer

Cramer is calling CoreWeave undervalued even as the stock rips 19% on its earnings beat, after CEO Michael Intrator's pitch on air.

I thought Intrator was VERY strong and made the case for certain that Coreweave's stock is too low.
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Winners & Losers

Today’s Winners:

Lumentum Holdings (Nasdaq: LITE) up 13.5%

Super Micro Computer (Nasdaq: SMCI) up 13.0%

Sandisk (Nasdaq: SNDK) up 8.4%

Today’s Losers: 

First Solar (Nasdaq: FSLR) down 5.6%

Charter Communications (Nasdaq: CHTR) down 4.7%

Tapestry (NYSE: TPR) down 4.4%

Capital Gains Tax Talk

A potential tax break for investors is emerging after reports that the Trump administration is considering indexing capital gains taxes to inflation. The idea would let investors adjust their cost basis for inflation, so taxes would apply only to the real gain rather than the portion created by rising prices.

In practice, a $100,000 investment sold for $200,000 after 20% inflation would have an adjusted basis of $120,000, reducing the taxable gain to $80,000 instead of $100,000. The policy is far from final, but if it moved forward, it would be a meaningful shift for taxable portfolios, especially long-held stocks, real estate, and other appreciated assets.

Inflation Cools

Inflation gave markets a cooler read, with U.S. prices ticking higher by 0.1% in July for an annual rate of 3.4%. Lower gas prices helped take pressure off the headline number. The print gives bulls another potential rate-relief catalyst, especially if traders read it as evidence the Fed can stay patient rather than push policy tighter. According to prediction markets, traders are treating a September pause as the most likely Fed path, with odds near 68.2%. A quarter-point cut is priced at 17%, while a hike sits at 9.6%,

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The story so far

This article will be updated throughout the day, so check back often for more daily updates. 

Nasdaq futures led Wall Street higher as a cooler inflation print and another round of AI-linked gains gave bulls a cleaner setup. Nasdaq-100 futures rose 0.9%, while S&P 500 futures added 0.4% and Dow futures climbed 144 points, or 0.3%. The macro catalyst came from July CPI, which landed largely in line with expectations. Headline inflation rose 0.1% for the month and 3.4% from a year earlier, while core CPI increased 0.2% monthly and 2.5% annually. Both annual readings cooled slightly from June, giving traders more room to bet that the Fed can stay patient.

Tech supplied the momentum. CoreWeave (Nasdaq: CRWV) jumped after earnings, while Super Micro Computer (Nasdaq: SMCI) helped keep the AI infrastructure trade in focus. For now, the tape has the combination investors wanted: inflation not hot enough to revive rate fears, and AI demand still strong enough to support growth stocks.

Norway’s $2.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund is capturing attention, reportedly delivering a record $185 billion H1 2026 profit, helped by a 12.95% return and a powerful run in semiconductor stocks. But CEO Nicolai Tangen is warning investors not to extrapolate that pace, pointing to geopolitics, inflation, and the risk of weaker markets ahead.

Here’s a look at where things stand as of early morning trading:

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 53,818 Up 0.02%
Nasdaq Composite: 26,632 Up 0.70%
S&P 500: 7,754 Up 0.35%

Market Movers

Taiwan’s Foxconn, a supplier to Nvidia (Nasdaq: NVDA) and Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), gave the AI hardware trade another earnings tailwind. Revenue jumped 54.2% year over year to $29.4 billion and net income reaching $1.9 billion, ahead of expectations for $1.8 billion, according to Bloomberg. Demand tied to AI servers and advanced electronics is still flowing through the supply chain.

CoreWeave (Nasdaq: CRWV) jumped 14% after hours after topping expectations, with revenue rising 112% year over year to $2.58 billion and its adjusted loss coming in narrower than expected. The AI infrastructure provider also pointed to a $104 billion backlog, 1.5 gigawatts of active power, and Q3 revenue guidance implying roughly 158% growth at the midpoint.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Gerelyn Terzo

Gerelyn Terzo is the author of dividend investing handbook "Dividend Investing Strategies: How to Have Your Cake & Eat It Too." A veteran financial journalist, she covers agri-finance for outlets like Global AgInvesting and the broader stock market and personal finance for 24/7 Wall Street. She began at CNBC and later helped launch Fox Business in New York. Gerelyn currently resides in Woodland Park, Colorado and dabbles in nature photography as a hobby.

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