Markets Slip From Friday's Record High as Oil Rises on Hormuz Uncertainty — Nvidia's $500 Billion Wall Street Financing Deal Renews AI-Bubble Fears

A Quiet Pause Follows Last Week's Record-Setting Rally

Oil Rises as Hormuz Talks Stall, Nvidia's $500B Financing Deal Rattles AI Stocks

• Crude oil rose broadly Monday — WTI gained roughly 1.3% to near $79 a barrel and Brent climbed about 1.4% to near $85 — after Iran signaled a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz was "very close" while simultaneously insisting the standoff "has no military solution."
• Nvidia shares fell after the chipmaker unveiled a $500 billion AI-infrastructure financing partnership with Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, and other Wall Street giants, reviving investor worry about "circular financing" propping up the AI buildout.
• The pullback came one trading session after the S&P 500 logged its strongest week since April, closing at a record 7,757.64 on Friday.
• Despite the headwinds, the S&P 500 slipped just ▼ 0.06% and the Dow eased ▼ 0.11% — a muted retreat as traders positioned ahead of Wednesday's Consumer Price Index report.

Energy Leads as Oil Climbs; Intel's Dilutive Stock Sale Weighs on Chips

• Energy was Monday's best-performing sector, up roughly 4.5%, as ExxonMobil (XOM) rose ▲ 3.2% alongside the broader crude rally.
• Intel (INTC) slid ▼ 5% after upsizing a stock offering to roughly $20 billion, priced at $95 a share, to fund AI and manufacturing investment — a move investors read as dilutive.
• AI-optics names cooled ahead of earnings: Coherent (COHR) dropped ▼ 11.6% as investors booked profits after a strong multi-week run.
• Technology and real estate were the session's weakest sectors as Nvidia's AI-financing news rippled through chip and data-center-adjacent stocks.

An Archer-Boeing Blockbuster and a Menopause-Drug Breakthrough Led Gainers

• Archer Aviation (ACHR) surged ▲ 18.4% after agreeing to acquire Boeing's Wisk Aero, Insitu, and SkyGrid subsidiaries in an eVTOL and defense-tech deal that also brings Boeing on as an equity investor.
• AbCellera Biologics (ABCL) rocketed roughly ▲ 41% on strong Phase 2 trial results for its investigational hot-flash treatment, ABCL635.
• Datadog (DDOG) climbed ▲ 6.8% after Citigroup raised its price target to $305, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) added ▲ 6.6% on a Q2 earnings beat.
• Energy names extended gains as ExxonMobil (XOM) rose ▲ 3.2% with crude prices.

A Quiet Pullback From Record Highs Ahead of CPI

• The S&P 500 eased ▼ 0.06% to 7,753.11 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped ▼ 0.11% to 53,975.98 — both retreating only modestly from Friday's record closing highs.
• The Nasdaq Composite fell ▼ 0.32% to 26,605.36 and the Russell 2000 declined ▼ 0.56% to 3,017.40, as small caps gave back a slice of last week's roughly 3.5% advance.
• The 10-year Treasury yield eased to roughly 4.65% as traders positioned ahead of Wednesday's Consumer Price Index report, with markets watching whether cooling inflation could open the door to a Fed rate cut.
• Last week was the S&P 500's strongest since April: the index gained roughly 3.6%, the Nasdaq 5.2%, and the Dow 3.0%, capped by Friday's record close.

What to Watch the Week of August 10

• The Consumer Price Index (July) lands Wednesday, August 12 — the week's pivotal report, with core CPI expected near +0.2% month-over-month and headline inflation around 3.4% year-over-year.
• The Producer Price Index and weekly jobless claims arrive Thursday, August 13, a closely watched signal after Friday's jobs report showed the economy shed 23,000 jobs with sizable downward revisions.
• Retail Sales and the preliminary Michigan Consumer Sentiment reading close out the week on Friday, August 14, testing consumer resilience.
• AI-infrastructure earnings remain in focus, with Super Micro Computer, CoreWeave, and Cisco Systems among names reporting this week.
• The Strait of Hormuz remains the key swing factor for oil — Iran has signaled openness to a deal but has yet to drop its preconditions.