A second straight benign inflation print set a constructive tone into the cash open: July wholesale prices came in flat versus the ~0.2–0.3% rise economists expected, reinforcing Wednesday's cool CPI and keeping the soft-landing, rate-cut narrative intact — with the S&P 500 sitting within striking distance of a record.

Futures now

As reported near the open (TradingKey, TheStreet): Dow futures +0.26% (~+174 pts), S&P 500 futures +0.18%, Nasdaq-100 futures +0.06%. The single biggest overnight driver was the soft July PPI landing on top of Wednesday's tame CPI.

Pre-market movers — AI names selling on good news

• Cisco (CSCO) ~-6%: a Q4 beat (revenue $17.3B, +18% YoY; adj EPS $1.22) with a strong FY27 guide and $9.3B of AI orders — but gross margin slipped to 66.3% and the market punished the mix.
• Coherent (COHR) ~-5%: profit-taking after results despite healthy AI-optical demand; the bar had been raised by Lumentum's prior-day surge.
• Cerebras (CBRS): also lower after earnings — AI demand read strong, but the stock fell anyway (~19%, per TheStreet), the same "good news isn't good enough" theme.
• IBM firmer on an OpenAI enterprise-AI partnership; Applied Materials (AMAT) ~+1% into its report; memory mixed (Micron slightly up, SanDisk +1%, Seagate -1%).

Earnings today

The marquee print is Applied Materials (AMAT) after the close — options imply a ~10% move, with AI-chip and advanced-packaging capex the swing factor for the semi-equipment read. Also on the tape: Deere (DE), Tapestry (TPR), JD.com (JD), NetEase (NTES), Nu Holdings (NU) and Brookfield (BN).

Macro today

• 8:30 ET — July PPI (out): headline flat MoM vs ~+0.2–0.3% expected; final-demand goods fell 0.7% (energy-led) while services rose 0.2%. A miss like this cools PCE-inflation fears and is risk-positive.
• 8:30 ET — Weekly jobless claims (out): 209,000 vs ~202,000 expected (prior ~200,000) — a modest uptick, still consistent with a stable-but-cooling labour market.
• Fed-speak: Cleveland's Hammack (8:15) and Richmond's Barkin (8:40).
• 13:00 ET — 30-year Treasury auction for a read on long-end demand. On deck tomorrow: July retail sales.

Rates, dollar & commodities

US 10Y ~4.65%; DXY ~99.8 (-0.1%). Oil softer — WTI ~$81.6, Brent ~$87.3 — after OPEC and the IEA trimmed 2026 demand forecasts; gold ~$4,390.

Overnight global

Asia mostly firmed after Wall Street's CPI-and-AI rally: Japan's Nikkei 225 +1.16% (68,309) and South Korea's KOSPI +3.6% (6,813), with Hong Kong's Hang Seng near 25,440. Europe opened steady — the Stoxx 600 +0.2% — leaving global risk appetite supportive into the US session.

What to watch at the open

Watch whether the benign PPI is enough to push the S&P 500 to a fresh record, or whether the "sell the AI winner" reaction in Cisco, Coherent and Cerebras signals a very high earnings bar and a tiring bid. Keep an eye on the 10Y near 4.65% into the 30-year auction, and position ahead of Applied Materials after the close.

As of ~9:15 AM ET, Aug 13, 2026. Sources: TradingKey, TheStreet, CNBC, BLS. Automated US market brief for discussion and education only — not investment advice. Verify before acting.