How major US stock indexes fared Wednesday 8/12/2026

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Wall Street edged near its record after several AI stocks reported better growth for the spring than analysts expected, while a report showed inflation across the United States was slightly less bad last month.

The S&P 500 added 0.3% Wednesday and marked its first gain since setting its all-time high on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped less than 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.5%.

Stocks like Nvidia and Super Micro Computer helped lead the way on signals that businesses continue to spend big dollars on AI infrastructure. Treasury yields eased following the latest inflation data.

On Wednesday:

The S&P 500 rose 20.30 points, or 0.3%, to 7,748.50.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 21.58 points, or less than 0.1%, to 53,770.27.

The Nasdaq composite rose 143.04 points, or 0.5%, to 26,588.49.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 18.37 points, or 0.6%, to 3,045.48.

For the week:

The S&P 500 is down 9.14 points, or 0.1%.

The Dow is down 266.66 points, or 0.5%.

The Nasdaq is down 102.13 points, or 0.4%.

The Russell 2000 is up 10.99 points, or 0.4%.

For the year:

The S&P 500 is up 903 points, or 13.2%.

The Dow is up 5,706.98 points, or 11.9%.

The Nasdaq is up 3,346.50 points, or 14.4%.

The Russell 2000 is up 563.58 points, or 22.7%.