Research Report
Question: You are a rigorous financial research analyst. Ground EVERY quantitative claim in data you actually pulled from the finance tools — never invent a price, multiple, or indicator. Answer the REQUEST below by:
- Identifying the specific publicly-tradable assets (tickers) it concerns. When the request is open-ended (e.g. "top up-and-coming tech companies"), first find concrete candidates: use
finance_data(action=search) to resolve names to tickers, and web search / the browser for qualitative discovery. - For EVERY ticker you discuss, pull real data with the finance tools:
finance_dataaction=analyze — LIVE price, % returns, 52-week range position, and the indicator panel (RSI-14, MACD, SMA 50/200, VWMA-20/67, trend). Batch multiple tickers in one call.finance_dataaction=fundamentals — market cap, P/E & forward P/E, PEG, margins, revenue growth, analyst target & rating (use for valuation).finance_dataaction=quote source=pyth — fastest realtime spot price (esp. crypto) with a confidence band, when you need the very latest tick.finance_dataaction=liquidation — the VWMA-67 'true price' and leverage liquidation levels (great for crypto/timing context).finance_news— recent catalysts/sentiment (macro + per-ticker headlines).finance_insider— corporate insider (SEC Form 4) and, with scope=congress, political trades, to see informed-money flow. If scope=congress returns abrowser_fallback(the free API was gated), follow it: use thebrowsertool on the given capitoltrades.com URL(s) and read the rendered trades table.
- Writing a concise report: a short investment thesis for each asset (why it is interesting, grounded in the pulled price/fundamentals/news/insider data), then a summary table with columns: Ticker | Price | 1d% | 5d% | 20d% | RSI | P/E | Trend. Rank assets by thesis strength, cite notable news/insider signals, and clearly flag any ticker you could not fetch.
REQUEST: How did the US stock market perform today, including the major indices, the biggest movers, and what drove them?
Date: 2026-08-15T04:29:09.770951034+00:00
Rounds: 1
Status: COMPLETE
Evidence: 133 claims · 47 sourced · 13 partial · 9 unsupported · 64 self-reported (no independent source) · 26 single-source
Executive Summary
US stocks closed Friday, August 14, 2026, essentially flat to marginally lower: the S&P 500 slipped −0.20%, the Dow −0.21%, and the Nasdaq-100 −0.14%, while the small-cap Russell 2000 bucked the tape with a +0.52% gain to a fresh 52-week high. The day was a rotation, not a selloff: energy led decisively (XLE +1.39%, +7.67% on the week) on Gulf shipping risk and higher oil, small caps and cyclicals advanced, and mega-cap tech gave back gains — Broadcom fell −5.9%, Amazon −0.9%, Meta −0.9%. The drivers were three: (1) soft consumer data (July retail sales fell for the first time in nine months; August consumer sentiment dropped to 51 from 55.2) supporting Fed rate-cut odds, (2) a geopolitical oil bid from Strait of Hormuz shipping attacks, and (3) AI-capex de-risking after Nvidia scaled back its OpenAI data-center guarantee and Broadcom faced a reported $370B financing-exposure question. All four major indices remain in strong uptrends near 52-week highs, so the pullback reads as consolidation after record highs — the S&P secured a third consecutive weekly gain.
Major Indices — Friday, August 14, 2026 (live close data)
| Ticker | Index | Price | 1d% | 5d% | 20d% | RSI-14 | Trend | 52-wk range position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPY | S&P 500 | $776.34 | −0.20% | +0.40% | +4.45% | 65.7 | strong uptrend | 98.0% |
| QQQ | Nasdaq-100 | $731.07 | −0.14% | +1.11% | +5.14% | 59.6 | strong uptrend | 90.9% |
| DIA | Dow Jones | $536.80 | −0.21% | −0.52% | +3.07% | 59.4 | strong uptrend | 90.1% |
| IWM | Russell 2000 | $305.09 | +0.52% | +1.17% | +3.76% | 63.4 | strong uptrend | 99.9% |
The VIX fell to 14.25 (−2.6% on the day, −24% over 20 sessions, just 4% of its 52-week range) — the market is pricing near-zero near-term stress. All four index ETFs hold above their VWMA-67 "true price," confirming uptrends remain intact (https://tickerdaily.com/article/stock-market-today-august-14-2026-sandp-500-closes-near-record-highs-on-cooling-inflation; https://tradingstrategyguides.com/stock-market-recap-august-14-2026-sp-500-secures-3rd-weekly-gain/).
Biggest Movers of the Session
Gainers (prices/returns pulled live; catalysts from cited sources — see caveats):
| Ticker | Company | Price | 1d% | Catalyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ETON | Eton Pharmaceuticals | $58.86 | +44.3% | Movers-board listing; catalyst unverified |
| HTFL | HeartFlow | $42.08 | +35.7% | Movers-board listing; catalyst unverified |
| AAOI | Applied Optoelectronics | $150.28 | +15.5% | AI/optical-networking strength; price-source conflict flagged |
| RDDT | $178.09 | +12.6% (14% intraday) | S&P 500 index inclusion (https://www.fool.com/coverage/stock-market-today/2026/08/14/stock-market-midday-aug-14-stocks-wobble-as-retail-sales-disappoint-reddit-jumps-14/) | |
| MXL | MaxLinear | $84.84 | +10.7% | Semis/AI strength; catalyst unverified |
| NBIS | Nebius Group | $277.68 | +8.9% | AI-infrastructure rally (5d +47.7%); catalyst unverified |
| LUMN | Lumen | $6.72 | +5.0% | AI data-center/fiber infrastructure play (https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/jim-cramer-reviews-nvidia-nvda-235846609.html) |
Losers:
| Ticker | Company | Price | 1d% | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| INV | Innventure | $1.615 | −55.1% | Distressed micro-cap; price-source disagreement flagged |
| BZAI | Blaize Holdings | $0.593 | −49.3% | Distressed micro-cap |
| KLC | KinderCare Learning | $2.60 | −46.2% | Heavy volume, RSI 19.6; earnings-style re-rate plausible but unverified |
| VERI | Veritone | $1.15 | −22.8% | AI-analytics small-cap |
| GLOB | Globant | $37.38 | −8.8% | Post-earnings move; figures unverified |
| DDS | Dillard's | $560.88 | −8.6% | Trend flipped to strong downtrend — consistent with weak retail-sales read |
| DUOL | Duolingo | $132.83 | −7.8% | Catalyst unverified |
| AVGO | Broadcom | $392.99 | −5.9% | Biggest index drag; AI-trade cooling + $370B financing-risk question (https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/broadcom-avgo-faces-370-billion-211358853.html) |
Other notable moves: Applied Materials ≈ −5% despite a strong forecast (https://www.fool.com/coverage/stock-market-today/2026/08/14/stock-market-today-aug-14-stocks-slip-as-consumer-data-disappoints-broadcom-falls-6/); Valneva +22% on earnings + EU Lyme-vaccine validation; Workday −4% giving back part of its Silver-Lake-buyout surge.
What Drove the Session
- Soft consumer data → rate-cut hopes, but also demand concerns. July retail sales fell for the first time in nine months, and the University of Michigan August sentiment dropped to 51 from 55.2 — supportive of Fed cuts, but a warning on the sustainability of record highs (https://www.fool.com/coverage/stock-market-today/2026/08/14/stock-market-midday-aug-14-stocks-wobble-as-retail-sales-disappoint-reddit-jumps-14/).
- Geopolitics → oil bid. Two more ships attacked near the Strait of Hormuz; Iran's FM said shipping cannot restart until US conditions are met. Oil rose >$1/bbl; XLE +1.39% day, +7.67% week (https://www.financialjuice.com/News/9722598/Iran-FM-US-must-fulfill-conditions-for-shipping-to-restart-through-Strait-of-Hormuz.aspx).
- AI-capex de-risking capped the tech complex. Nvidia reduced its OpenAI data-center guarantee from $250B to under $120B to ease investor concerns (https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/nvidia-scales-back-250-billion-234356524.html); Broadcom fell 5.9% amid the $370B financing-exposure question and hedge-fund exits (Third Point left AVGO and NVDA in Q2). NVDA itself was flat (−0.06%).
- Rising long-end yields. The 20-year Treasury ETF fell −0.67% (yields up ~5bp to 4.69% on the 10-year) — a month-long grind higher that pressured rate-sensitive tech and healthcare (XLK −0.40%, XLV −0.60%) (https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/stock-market-today-dow-sp-500-nasdaq-08-14-2026).
- Chip supply-chain policy. The US urged Apple against purchasing Chinese memory chips — a headwind for hardware tech (https://www.financialjuice.com/News/9722439/US-urges-Apple-against-purchasing-Chinese-memory-chips---WSJ.aspx).
Informed-money signal (contrarian caution): the largest insider flows on the day were sales in the AI/data-center complex — Magnetar (a 10% holder) sold ~$478M of Coreweave (CRWV) over three sessions; Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav sold ~$27.1M; CrowdStrike's CEO sold ~$4.5M. Q2 13Fs show Third Point exiting NVDA/AVGO and Tiger Global trimming MSFT/GOOGL/NVDA, while Druckenmiller's Duquesne family office increased Amazon ~1,000% to 541,600 shares (https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/druckenmiller-loads-amazon-amd-while-215638635.html).
Summary Table — Ranked by Signal Strength
| Ticker | Price | 1d% | 5d% | 20d% | RSI | P/E* | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IWM | $305.09 | +0.52 | +1.17 | +3.76 | 63.4 | n/a | strong uptrend — record close, breadth winner |
| XLE | $61.91 | +1.39 | +7.67 | +7.33 | 67.5 | n/a | strong uptrend — Hormuz/oil catalyst |
| SPY | $776.34 | −0.20 | +0.40 | +4.45 | 65.7 | n/a | strong uptrend — pause at records |
| QQQ | $731.07 | −0.14 | +1.11 | +5.14 | 59.6 | n/a | strong uptrend — absorbed AVGO drag |
| RDDT | $178.09 | +12.6 | — | — | — | n/a | S&P 500 inclusion catalyst |
| DIA | $536.80 | −0.21 | −0.52 | +3.07 | 59.4 | n/a | strong uptrend — weakest large-cap 5d |
| AVGO | $392.99 | −5.94 | −8.13 | +5.98 | 46.5 | n/a | strong uptrend — below VWMA-67 "true price" ($401.85) |
| MSFT | $495.40 | −0.30 | −0.92 | +25.79 | 70.9 | n/a | uptrend — overbought after parabolic run |
| AMZN | $262.65 | −0.94 | −4.31 | +6.24 | 53.5 | n/a | strong uptrend — weak tape, but Druckenmiller accumulation |
*P/E was not pulled for any ticker this session (the finance fundamentals endpoint was not available in the index/ETF and mover pulls); the column is intentionally left unpopulated rather than approximated.
Analysis
The cleanest read of August 14 is a leadership change within an uptrend. A few numbers make the point: small caps closed at the 99.9th percentile of their 52-week range while the S&P sat at 98.0%; energy was up +1.39% the same day tech fell −0.40% and healthcare −0.60%; and the VIX collapsed to 14.25, 4% of its range. A correlated selloff would not produce that pattern — this was profit-taking in the megacap AI complex and a bid rotating into energy, small caps, and cyclicals. The two macro forces — disinflation (benign CPI, soft retail sales) pulling toward rate cuts, and rising long yields/geopolitical oil pulling the other way — roughly cancelled at the index level.
The one signal genuinely dissonant with the tape is insider and 13F selling in the AI trade: ~$478M of Coreweave sales by a 10% holder, Third Point out of NVDA/AVGO, and overbought conditions in MSFT (RSI 70.9) argue for selective trimming of the crowded winners even as the trend remains up.
Risks & Open Questions
- Earnings attribution unverified. The
finance_newsfeed was rate-limited (HTTP 429) for part of the session, so the specific beat/miss and guidance figures behind moves in AAOI, MXL, CEVA, GLOB, DUOL, DDS, and the micro-cap losers (INV, BZAI, KLC) could not be confirmed from primary sources. Those catalysts are inference, not verified fact. - Price-source conflicts. Pyth and TradingView disagreed for AAOI, AMZN ($262.65 vs $595.25), META, and INV; the TradingView values are used above. The 10-year yield (^TNX) could not be fetched — yield direction is inferred from TLT/IEF. CPRT's pulled price ($31.61) was flagged as inconsistent with its real-world level and is excluded. Top-gainer screens from secondary sources returned empty/blocked bodies; the gainers list above rests on the pulled search/movers sources.
- Breadth arithmetic unverified. No machine-readable advancers/decliners or new-highs/new-lows count was available; the breadth characterization rests on index/sector data and narrative headlines.
Claims without independent support
These statements appear in the narrative above but are not backed by text retrieved from a source. SELF-REPORTED means the only thing asserting it is the swarm's own worker output — the narrative was written from that output, so it corroborates nothing. Treat all of these as unverified.
- [SELF-REPORTED] US stocks closed Friday, August 14, 2026, essentially flat to marginally lower: the S&P 500 slipped −0.20%, the Dow −0.21%, and the Nasdaq-100 −0.14%, while the small-cap Russell 2000 bucked the tape with a +0.52% gain to a fresh 52-week high.
- [PARTIAL] The day was a rotation, not a selloff: energy led decisively (XLE +1.39%, +7.67% on the week) on Gulf shipping risk and higher oil, small caps and cyclicals advanced, and mega-cap tech gave back gains — Broadcom fell −5.9%, Amazon −0.9%, Meta −0.9%. (unmatched: 7.67, 0.9)
- [PARTIAL] The drivers were three: (1) soft consumer data (July retail sales fell for the first time in nine months; August consumer sentiment dropped to 51 from 55.2) supporting Fed rate-cut odds, (2) a geopolitical oil bid from Strait of Hormuz shipping attacks, and (3) AI-capex de-risking after Nvidia scaled back its OpenAI data-center guarantee and Broadcom faced a reported $370B financing-exposure question. (unmatched: 370)
- [UNSUPPORTED] 1d%
- [UNSUPPORTED] 5d%
- [SELF-REPORTED] $776.34
- [SELF-REPORTED] +4.45%
- [SELF-REPORTED] 65.7
- [SELF-REPORTED] +1.11%
- [SELF-REPORTED] +5.14%
- [SELF-REPORTED] 59.6
- [SELF-REPORTED] 90.9%
- [SELF-REPORTED] $536.80
- [SELF-REPORTED] +3.07%
- [SELF-REPORTED] 59.4
- [SELF-REPORTED] 90.1%
- [SELF-REPORTED] $305.09
- [SELF-REPORTED] +1.17%
- [SELF-REPORTED] +3.76%
- [SELF-REPORTED] 63.4
- [SELF-REPORTED] 99.9%
- [PARTIAL] The VIX fell to 14.25 (−2.6% on the day, −24% over 20 sessions, just 4% of its 52-week range) — the market is pricing near-zero near-term stress. (unmatched: 14.25)
- [PARTIAL] All four index ETFs hold above their VWMA-67 "true price," confirming uptrends remain intact (https://tickerdaily.com/article/stock-market-today-august-14-2026-sandp-500-closes-near-record-highs-on-cooling-inflation; https://tradingstrategyguides.com/stock-market-recap-august-14-2026-sp-500-secures-3rd-weekly-gain/). (unmatched: 67)
- [SELF-REPORTED] $150.28
- [SELF-REPORTED] +15.5%
- [PARTIAL] +12.6% (14% intraday) (unmatched: 12.6)
- [SELF-REPORTED] $84.84
- [SELF-REPORTED] +10.7%
- [SELF-REPORTED] $277.68
- [SELF-REPORTED] +8.9%
- [SELF-REPORTED] AI-infrastructure rally (5d +47.7%); catalyst unverified
- [UNSUPPORTED] +5.0%
- [UNSUPPORTED] AI data-center/fiber infrastructure play (https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/jim-cramer-reviews-nvidia-nvda-235846609.html) (unmatched: 235846609)
- [SELF-REPORTED] $1.615
- [UNSUPPORTED] −55.1%
- [SELF-REPORTED] $0.593
- [UNSUPPORTED] −49.3%
- [UNSUPPORTED] −46.2%
- [SELF-REPORTED] Heavy volume, RSI 19.6; earnings-style re-rate plausible but unverified
- [SELF-REPORTED] $1.15
- [UNSUPPORTED] −22.8%
- [SELF-REPORTED] −8.8%
- [SELF-REPORTED] $560.88
- [SELF-REPORTED] −8.6%
- [SELF-REPORTED] $132.83
- [SELF-REPORTED] −7.8%
- [UNSUPPORTED] Biggest index drag; AI-trade cooling + $370B financing-risk question (https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/broadcom-avgo-faces-370-billion-211358853.html) (unmatched: 370, 211358853)
- [SELF-REPORTED] Geopolitics → oil bid. Two more ships attacked near the Strait of Hormuz; Iran's FM said shipping cannot restart until US conditions are met.
- [PARTIAL] Oil rose >$1/bbl; XLE +1.39% day, +7.67% week (https://www.financialjuice.com/News/9722598/Iran-FM-US-must-fulfill-conditions-for-shipping-to-restart-through-Strait-of-Hormuz.aspx). (unmatched: 7.67, 9722598)
- [PARTIAL] AI-capex de-risking capped the tech complex. Nvidia reduced its OpenAI data-center guarantee from $250B to under $120B to ease investor concerns (https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/nvidia-scales-back-250-billion-234356524.html); Broadcom fell 5.9% amid the $370B financing-exposure question and hedge-fund exits (Third Point left AVGO and NVDA in Q2). (unmatched: 250, 120, 234356524, 370)
- [PARTIAL] Rising long-end yields. The 20-year Treasury ETF fell −0.67% (yields up ~5bp to 4.69% on the 10-year) — a month-long grind higher that pressured rate-sensitive tech and healthcare (XLK −0.40%, XLV −0.60%) (https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/stock-market-today-dow-sp-500-nasdaq-08-14-2026). (unmatched: 0.67, 4.69)
- [SELF-REPORTED] Chip supply-chain policy. The US urged Apple against purchasing Chinese memory chips — a headwind for hardware tech (https://www.financialjuice.com/News/9722439/US-urges-Apple-against-purchasing-Chinese-memory-chips---WSJ.aspx).
- [SELF-REPORTED] Informed-money signal (contrarian caution):** the largest insider flows on the day were sales in the AI/data-center complex — Magnetar (a 10% holder) sold ~$478M of Coreweave (CRWV) over three sessions; Warner Bros.
- [PARTIAL] Discovery CEO David Zaslav sold ~$27.1M; CrowdStrike's CEO sold ~$4.5M. (unmatched: 27.1)
- [PARTIAL] Q2 13Fs show Third Point exiting NVDA/AVGO and Tiger Global trimming MSFT/GOOGL/NVDA, while Druckenmiller's Duquesne family office increased Amazon ~1,000% to 541,600 shares (https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/druckenmiller-loads-amazon-amd-while-215638635.html). (unmatched: 541600, 215638635)
- [SELF-REPORTED] +1.17
- [SELF-REPORTED] +3.76
- [SELF-REPORTED] $61.91
- [SELF-REPORTED] +7.67
- [SELF-REPORTED] +7.33
- [SELF-REPORTED] 67.5
- [SELF-REPORTED] +4.45
- [SELF-REPORTED] +1.11
- [SELF-REPORTED] +5.14
- [SELF-REPORTED] +12.6
- [SELF-REPORTED] +3.07
- [SELF-REPORTED] strong uptrend — weakest large-cap 5d
- [SELF-REPORTED] −8.13
- [SELF-REPORTED] +5.98
- [SELF-REPORTED] 46.5
- [PARTIAL] strong uptrend — below VWMA-67 "true price" ($401.85) (unmatched: 401.85)
- [SELF-REPORTED] −0.92
- [SELF-REPORTED] +25.79
- [SELF-REPORTED] 70.9
- [SELF-REPORTED] −4.31
- [SELF-REPORTED] +6.24
- [SELF-REPORTED] 53.5
- [SELF-REPORTED] *P/E was not pulled for any ticker this session (the finance fundamentals endpoint was not available in the index/ETF and mover pulls); the column is intentionally left unpopulated rather than approximated.*
- [SELF-REPORTED] The cleanest read of August 14 is a leadership change within an uptrend.
- [SELF-REPORTED] A few numbers make the point: small caps closed at the 99.9th percentile of their 52-week range while the S&P sat at 98.0%; energy was up +1.39% the same day tech fell −0.40% and healthcare −0.60%; and the VIX collapsed to 14.25, 4% of its range.
- [SELF-REPORTED] A correlated selloff would not produce that pattern — this was profit-taking in the megacap AI complex and a bid rotating into energy, small caps, and cyclicals.
- [PARTIAL] The one signal genuinely dissonant with the tape is insider and 13F selling in the AI trade: ~$478M of Coreweave sales by a 10% holder, Third Point out of NVDA/AVGO, and overbought conditions in MSFT (RSI 70.9) argue for selective trimming of the crowded winners even as the trend remains up. (unmatched: 478, 70.9)
- [SELF-REPORTED] Earnings attribution unverified. The
finance_newsfeed was rate-limited (HTTP 429) for part of the session, so the specific beat/miss and guidance figures behind moves in AAOI, MXL, CEVA, GLOB, DUOL, DDS, and the micro-cap losers (INV, BZAI, KLC) could not be confirmed from primary sources. - [SELF-REPORTED] Those catalysts are inference, not verified fact.
- [PARTIAL] Price-source conflicts. Pyth and TradingView disagreed for AAOI, AMZN ($262.65 vs $595.25), META, and INV; the TradingView values are used above. (unmatched: 595.25)
- [SELF-REPORTED] Top-gainer screens from secondary sources returned empty/blocked bodies; the gainers list above rests on the pulled search/movers sources.
Detailed Findings
Round 0 · Finding 1
US Stock Market Recap — Friday, August 14, 2026
Note on method: all prices, returns, and indicator values below were pulled live from the finance-tools (finance_data action=analyze, last bar dated 2026-08-14). The finance_news tool was rate-limited (HTTP 429) all session, so the macro/sentiment narrative and most "biggest movers" identifications come from the crawled web sources (Motley Fool, earnings-today.com) directly, cited inline below. Where an individual mover's earnings catalyst could not be separately verified, it is flagged as unverified.
1. Executive Summary
US equities closed the Friday August 14, 2026 session essentially flat-to-slightly-lower, with the major cap-weighted indices down marginally while small caps posted a small gain. The S&P 500 fell about 0.2% (to the ~7,780–7,790 area) and remains in a strong uptrend near its 52‑week high, with VWMA-67 and RSI all confirming a healthy trend. The tape was driven by two opposing macro forces: soft July retail sales (first decline in nine months) and a drop in August consumer sentiment to 51 from 55.2 — data interpreted as supporting potential Fed rate cuts — partially offset by elevated oil prices, Middle East hostility, and profit-taking after record highs. Rotation was visible: energy, real estate, and basic materials led sector gainers while technology and healthcare lagged. The standout mover was Reddit (RDDT), which jumped ~13–14% on news it will join the S&P 500 index, alongside outsized moves in several biotech/small-cap names (ETON +44%, HTFL +36%).
2. Major Indices (pulled 2026-08-14 close)
| Ticker | Price | 1d% | 5d% | 20d% | RSI-14 | Trend | 52-wk range | Pos. in range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPY | $776.34 | −0.20% | +0.40% | +4.45% | 65.7 | strong uptrend | 629.28–779.37 | 98.0% |
| QQQ | $731.07 | −0.14% | +1.11% | +5.14% | 59.6 | strong uptrend | 555.60–748.65 | 90.9% |
| DIA | $536.80 | −0.21% | −0.52% | +3.07% | 59.4 | strong uptrend | 445.88–546.75 | 90.1% |
| IWM | $305.09 | +0.52% | +1.17% | +3.76% | 63.4 | strong uptrend | 223.69–305.18 | 99.9% |
Index read: The S&P 500 (SPY) and Nasdaq (QQQ) closed down ~0.1–0.2%, the Dow (DIA) down ~0.2%, while small caps (IWM) bucked the trend with a ~0.5% gain at the 99.9th percentile of their 52-week range. All four indices are in "strong uptrend" per the indicator panel and hold above their VWMA-67 "true price" (SPY 746.77, QQQ 713.48, DIA 516.35, IWM 291.44), consistent with the midweek breakout above 7,800 and the S&P's third consecutive weekly gain. Macro context from the crawled sources places the S&P 500 at ~7,782.65 (midday) / 7,785.76 and the Nasdaq Composite at ~26,729, Dow ~53,732. (https://www.fool.com/coverage/stock-market-today/2026/08/14/stock-market-midday-aug-14-stocks-wobble-as-retail-sales-disappoint-reddit-jumps-14/)
3. Biggest Movers of the Session
…(truncated — the summary above captures the substance)
Round 0 · Finding 2
US Stock Market Recap — Friday, August 14, 2026
All prices, returns, and indicators below are pulled live via finance_data (action=analyze, 1d bars, 250-bar window ending 2026-08-14; TradingView/pyth spot verified where noted). News/catalysts are cited from the Yahoo Finance news feed and recap headlines.
Executive Summary
US stocks finished Friday, August 14, 2026, mixed but essentially flat to modestly lower, snapping back from records set earlier in the week. The S&P 500 (SPY) and Dow (DIA) each slipped ~0.2%, the Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) fell ~0.1%, while the small-cap Russell 2000 (IWM) bucked the broader weakness with a ~+0.5% gain and closed right at its 52-week high — a record close (TheStreet headline noted "Russell 2000 notches..."). The day's action was a rotation story: a pullback in AI/chip mega-caps (Broadcom −5.9%, Applied Materials −5%) and nervousness over consumer data (July retail sales fell for the first time in nine months; consumer sentiment slumped) outweighed strength in energy (surged on Strait of Hormuz shipping attacks / rising oil) and a 13% spike in Reddit on its S&P 500 addition. Broadcomm's VWMA "true price" sits slightly below spot, consistent with a sharp-hot pullback in an otherwise strong uptrend.
1. Major Index ETFs — Today's Session (live data)
| Ticker | Index | Price (8/14) | 1d % | 5d % | 20d % | RSI-14 | MACD | SMA-50 | SMA-200 | VWMA-20 | VWMA-67 | Trend | 52wk range pos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPY | S&P 500 | $776.34 | −0.20% | +0.40% | +4.45% | 65.7 | +8.51 (bull) | $748.93 | $705.46 | $754.26 | $746.77 | strong_uptrend | 98% |
| QQQ | Nasdaq-100 | $731.07 | −0.14% | +1.11% | +5.14% | 59.6 | +5.52 (bull) | $712.95 | $650.62 | $700.13 | $713.48 | strong_uptrend | 90.9% |
| DIA | Dow Jones | $536.80 | −0.21% | −0.52% | +3.07% | 59.4 | +4.97 (bull) | $523.21 | $494.19 | $528.88 | $516.35 | strong_uptrend | 90.1% |
| IWM | Russell 2000 | $305.09 | +0.52% | +1.17% | +3.76% | 63.4 | +2.62 (bull) | $295.10 | $268.55 | $295.79 | $291.44 | strong_uptrend | 99.9% |
…(truncated — the summary above captures the substance)
Round 0 · Finding 3
US Stock Market Recap — Session of 2026-08-14
Executive Summary
Today was a broad but mildly down day for large-caps, with an old-school rotation favoring energy, small-caps, and cyclicals over mega-cap tech. The S&P 500 (SPY) edged lower −0.20%, the Nasdaq (QQQ) fell −0.14%, and the Dow (DIA) dipped −0.21% — a modest, nearly flat tape. The clear leadership was energy (XLE +1.39%) and small-caps (IWM +0.52%), driven by escalating Iran/Strait of Hormuz shipping-risk headlines (per the FinancialJuice feed). The laggards were mega-cap technology: MSFT −0.30%, AMZN −1.45%, META −0.86%, GOOGL −0.13%, and semis were flat (NVDA −0.06%, but XLK tech ETF −0.40%). The day's index move is best characterized as sector rotation within the market leader: energy/discretionary-adjacent cyclicals absorbing the bid that tech gave back, not a broad selloff.
Attribution: The move was NOT broad — it was concentrated in the energy complex (geopolitical bid) and a mild pullback in oversized mega-cap tech (Amazon being the biggest single drag), with a defensive/utilities bid (XLU +0.61%). Rate-sensitive and industrials (XLI +0.39%), staples (XLP +0.11%), materials (XLB +0.44%), real estate (XLRE +0.33%), and comm services (XLC +0.36%) were modestly positive, reinforcing a risk-on-but-rotation tone.
1. Major Index Performance (1-Day)
| Index ETF | Price | 1D % | 5D % | 20D % | RSI-14 | Trend | 52-wk range pos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPY (S&P 500) | $776.34 | −0.198% | +0.398% | +4.45% | 65.7 | strong_uptrend | 98.0% |
| QQQ (Nasdaq-100) | $731.07 | −0.137% | +1.11% | +5.14% | 59.6 | strong_uptrend | 90.9% |
| DIA (Dow 30) | $536.80 | −0.206% | −0.52% | +3.07% | 59.4 | strong_uptrend | 90.1% |
| IWM (Russell 2000) | $305.09 | +0.524% | +1.17% | +3.76% | 63.4 | strong_uptrend | 99.9% (all-time-high territory) |
All four indices remain in strong uptrends well above their 50- and 200-day SMAs (e.g., SPY SMA50 $748.9, SMA200 $705.5 vs price $776.3), with RSI in the 59–66 range — constructive momentum. The S&P is sitting at the 98th percentile of its 52-week range, i.e., near cycle highs. The standout of the day is IWM (small caps) +0.52% — the only index ETF in the green, at a 99.9% range position — confirming a rotation into smaller, more domestically-focused names on the energy/commodities bid.
2. Sector ETF Attribution (the core of "what drove today")
…(truncated — the summary above captures the substance)
Round 0 · Finding 4
US Stock Market Recap — Friday, August 14, 2026
Executive Summary
The tape closed the week in a risk-on but slightly give-back posture: small caps and cyclical value led while large-cap technology/megacaps pulled back modestly. Volatility collapsed — the VIX fell to 14.25 (−2.6% on the day, −24% over 20 sessions, sitting at just 4% of its 52-week range) — signaling deeply complacent conviction. The primary catalyst identified across the session was cooling inflation (a "benign" consumer price index print that per Jim Cramer's Aug. 12 Mad Money commentary "couldn't contain" data-center/AI infrastructure names) and, into Friday, news that Nvidia was scaling back its giant OpenAI data-center financing guarantee — a de-risking of the AI capex trade. Breadth was broad (small caps/indexes near 52-week highs, energy/industrials leading), but the largest megacap-weighted ETFs (SPY, QQQ, DIA) closed marginally lower, pressured by mega-cap tech. The informed-money (SEC Form 4) lens for the day is notable: the biggest flow is selling inside the AI/data-center complex (Coreweave's 10% holder magnetar sold ~$478M; WBD's CEO and CrowdStrike's CEO sold), standing somewhat against the rally's momentum.
1. Index Performance (live pull, close 8/14/2026)
| Index (ETF) | Price | 1d % | 5d % | 20d % | RSI-14 | 52wk range pos | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPY (S&P 500) | $776.34 | −0.20% | +0.40% | +4.45% | 65.7 | 98.0% | Strong uptrend |
| QQQ (Nasdaq-100) | $731.07 | −0.14% | +1.11% | +5.14% | 59.6 | 90.9% | Strong uptrend |
| DIA (Dow) | $536.80 | −0.21% | −0.52% | +3.07% | 59.4 | 90.1% | Strong uptrend |
| IWM (Russell 2000) | $305.09 | +0.52% | +1.17% | +3.76% | 63.4 | 99.9% | Strong uptrend |
| VIX (fear gauge) | 14.25 | −2.60% | −4.36% | −24.1% | 40.1 | 4.0% | Strong downtrend |
| VXX (vol ETF) | $19.355 | −1.35% | −4.75% | −13.9% | 34.2 | 0.2% | Strong downtrend |
Read: Large-cap indices closed marginally lower (SPY −0.20%, DIA −0.21%, QQQ −0.14%) while small caps gained +0.52% and are sitting at their 52-week high (99.9% range position) — classic late-cycle breadth expansion into cyclicals/small caps. The VIX at 4% of its range with a −24% 20-day drawdown signals extreme risk complacency.
2. Sector Breadth (live pull, close 8/14/2026)
…(truncated — the summary above captures the substance)
Round 0 · Finding 5
US Stock Market Recap — Thursday, August 14, 2026
Data caveat: This report is grounded in live finance-tool pulls and one screen (stockanalysis.com). The finance_news API returned HTTP 429 rate-limit errors on every call, so company-specific catalyst headlines could not be pulled from that source; catalysts below are attributed from screener context and macro reasoning, and where a specific headline catalyst could not be confirmed it is flagged as such. Only losers were confirmed — the gainers screen returned an empty/blocked body, so the big gainers list could not be independently verified.
1. Major Indices — Session Close (Aug 14, 2026)
The session ended mixed: large-cap indices closed slightly lower while small caps led higher, a modest risk-on rotation into smaller names.
| Ticker | Index | Price | 1d % | 5d % | 20d % | RSI-14 | 52wk range pos | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPY | S&P 500 | $776.34 | −0.20% | +0.40% | +4.45% | 65.7 | 98.0% | strong uptrend |
| QQQ | Nasdaq-100 | $731.07 | −0.14% | +1.11% | +5.14% | 59.6 | 90.9% | strong uptrend |
| DIA | Dow Jones | $536.80 | −0.21% | −0.52% | +3.07% | 59.4 | 90.1% | strong uptrend |
| IWM | Russell 2000 | $305.09 | +0.52% | +1.17% | +3.76% | 63.4 | 99.9% | strong uptrend |
Attribution: The S&P 500 (SPY) printed its 1-day change at −0.20%, with 20-day momentum still firmly positive (+4.45%) and RSI-14 at 65.7 — a strong uptrend that simply paused after a long rally off the 52-week low of $629.28 (the index sits at the 98th percentile of its 52-week range). The Russell 2000 (IWM) resisted the tape, closing +0.52% at a fresh 52-week-high region (99.9% of range), signaling the direct driver was rotation into small/domestic-levered equities on the day rather than a broad selloff. The Nasdaq-100 (QQQ, −0.14%) and Dow (DIA, −0.21%) eased, pointing to modest trimming of large-cap/semis-led names. Qualitative: small-cap outperformance vs. large-cap declines is consistent with a growth/mega-cap profit-taking tape and a shift into value/small-caps; no specific macro headline was verifiable given the news-feed outage.
2. Biggest Losers of the Session (verified)
The day's most violent declines were overwhelmingly micro-caps and small-caps, several already deeply distressed (all sit in the bottom of their 52-week ranges). Data pulled live via finance_data (action=analyze) and cross-checked against the stockanalysis.com losers screen.
…(truncated — the summary above captures the substance)
Round 0 · Finding 6
US Stock Market Recap — Session of Friday, August 14, 2026
Executive Summary
US equities finished the session roughly flat-to-marginally lower at the index level, but it was a rotational tape, not a risk-off one. The mega-cap/growth complex and interest-rate-sensitive sectors were the laggards (S&P 500, Nasdaq, Dow all down ~0.1–0.2%), while small caps (RUSSELL 2000 +0.5%) and cyclical/defensive groups rallied. The clearest directional macro signals were higher oil (+1.3% on the day, +7.3% on the week) on Middle East/Gulf shipping risks and a grinding rise in long-term yields (20-yr Treasury ETF -0.67% today, -2.9% over 20 days, sitting at a 2.1% 52-week range position). The narrative was a mix of a benign CPI print (cited in news as fueling the AI data-center complex) layered over geopolitical Iran/Strait-of-Hormuz headlines and AI capex risk reassessment (Nvidia/OpenAI). Energy was the standout sector winner; tech/healthcare lagged.
1. Major Index Performance (live pulls, 1-day closes)
| ETF/Index proxy | Price | 1d % | 5d % | 20d % | RSI-14 | Trend | 52-wk pos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPY (S&P 500) | $776.34 | -0.20% | +0.40% | +4.45% | 65.7 | strong uptrend | 98.0% |
| QQQ (Nasdaq 100) | $731.07 | -0.14% | +1.11% | +5.14% | 59.6 | strong uptrend | 90.9% |
| DIA (Dow 30) | $536.80 | -0.21% | -0.52% | +3.07% | 59.4 | strong uptrend | 90.1% |
| IWM (Russell 2000) | $305.09 | +0.52% | +1.17% | +3.76% | 63.4 | strong uptrend | 99.9% |
Data: finance_data action=analyze, interval=1d. The broad tape is technically strong (all four in strong uptrends, RSI in the 59–66 neutral-to-positive zone, SPY and IWM near 52-week highs), so the modest down-close was mean-reversion/profit-taking in large-cap growth, not a trend break.
2. Sector Attribution — the real story (live 1d %)
| Sector ETF | 1d % | 5d % | RSI | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| XLE Energy | +1.39% | +7.67% | 67.5 | strong uptrend |
| XLU Utilities | +0.61% | +1.61% | 47.7 | downtrend |
| XLB Materials | +0.44% | -0.61% | 55.7 | strong uptrend |
| XLI Industrials | +0.39% | +0.72% | 61.1 | strong uptrend |
| XLC Communication | +0.36% | +1.53% | 58.0 | uptrend |
| XLRE Real Estate | +0.33% | +0.65% | 54.0 | strong uptrend |
| XLF Financials | -0.17% | +0.97% | 67.1 | strong uptrend |
| XLY Discretionary | -0.21% | -1.39% | 55.6 | uptrend |
| XLK Tech | -0.40% | +1.09% | 60.3 | strong uptrend |
| XLV Healthcare | -0.60% | +1.02% | 61.9 | strong uptrend |
Data: finance_data analyze. The session was a classic cyclical-over-growth rotation: energy, industrials, materials, utilities and real estate up; tech and healthcare the laggards. Energy's +1.39% day / +7.67% week is the standout — directly aligned with the oil move in section 4.
…(truncated — the summary above captures the substance)
Investigation Trail
Round 0
- Pull live data with finance_data action=analyze for SPY (S&P 500), QQQ (Nasdaq-100), DIA (Dow Jones), and IWM (Russell 2000): what were today's closing prices, 1d/5d/20d percentage returns, RSI-14, MACD, SMA 50/200, VWMA-20/67, and trend? Summarize each major index's performance for today's US session.
- Which US-listed stocks were today's biggest percentage gainers and biggest losers (top ~5 each) in the latest trading session, and what specific catalysts drove each — earnings, news headlines, analyst actions, or sector moves? Use finance_news and web search to discover the day's chief movers, then verify each candidate's actual price change with finance_data action=analyze and cite the catalyst for each.
- What macro, economic, and geopolitical developments drove today's US equity market — for example moves in Treasury yields (use ^TNX or 10-year yield data), the US dollar (UUP), oil (USO/CL), economic data releases, Fed speaker comments, or geopolitical headlines? Pull today's finance_news headlines to identify the macro narrative, then verify with finance_data price moves on those proxy tickers.
- Using finance_data action=analyze in one batch, pull today's 1d% change and trend for the S&P 500 sector ETFs: XLK (tech), XLF (financials), XLV (healthcare), XLY (discretionary), XLE (energy), XLI (industrials), XLP (staples), XLU (utilities), XLRE (real estate), XLC (comm services), XLB (materials) — and for mega-caps NVDA, AAPL, MSFT, AMZN, GOOGL, META, TSLA. Which sectors and mega-caps led or lagged today and which contributed most to the index move?
- Which publicly-traded US companies reported earnings for the most recent trading day, and how did each stock react — what was the after-hours/regular-session percentage move and what guidance or key metrics did the market focus on? Use finance_news and web search (e.g. earnings calendar/summaries) to identify today's earnings reporters and their stock reactions, and verify with finance_data action=analyze on each named ticker.
- What do today's volatility, breadth, and informed-money signals say about the tone of the US session — pull the VIX (^VIX or VIXY) closing level and % change, look for market-breadth statistics (advancers/decliners, new highs/lows) if available, and via finance_insider (scope=company, Form 4) check whether any of today's biggest movers saw notable insider buying or selling that could explain or corroborate the moves.
Sources
- https://www.fool.com/coverage/stock-market-today/2026/08/14/stock-market-midday-aug-14-stocks-wobble-as-retail-sales-disappoint-reddit-jumps-14/
- https://www.fool.com/coverage/stock-market-today/2026/08/14/...reddit-jumps-14/
- https://www.earningstoday.com/markets/movers
- https://apnews.com/article/wall-street-stocks-dow-nasdaq-41b7cf2acc6562758183b1c5eae73635
- https://www.cnbc.com/markets/us-market-movers/
- https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/gainers/
- https://whythemove.com/stocks
- https://www.chartmill.com/stock/markets/usa/movers/earnings-today
- https://www.earningswhispers.com/earningsmovers
- https://earningspulse.ai/markets/movers
- https://stockmarketwatch.com/screen/top-gainers
- https://finance.yahoo.com/
- https://www.benzinga.com/premarket
- https://www.thetrading.tools/earnings-calendar
- https://www.cnbc.com/earnings-announcements/
- https://earningscountdown.com/today/
- https://www.stocktitan.net/news/earnings.html
- https://www.marketbeat.com/earnings/latest/
- https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2974744/stock-market-news-for-aug-14-2026
- https://www.earningstoday.com/earnings-calendar/daily
- https://earnings-watcher.com/earnings-this-week
- https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/live/stock-market-today-friday-august-14-dow-sp-500-nasdaq-102635519.html
- https://finance.yahoo.com/video/wall-street-ends-lower-investors-225242650.html
- https://www.fool.com/coverage/stock-market-today/2026/08/14/stock-market-today-aug-14-stocks-slip-as-consumer-data-disappoints-broadcom-falls-6/
- https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/broadcom-avgo-faces-370-billion-211358853.html
- https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/broadcom-falls-6-ai-trade-195640614.html
- https://finance.yahoo.com/m/64c7a299-0ef1-3afe-9888-95b3474ece56/
- https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/druckenmiller-loads-amazon-amd-while-215638635.html
- https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/tiger-global-management-cuts-stakes-192754927.html
- https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/stock-market-today-dow-sp-500-nasdaq-08-14-2026
- https://www.barrons.com/livecoverage/stock-market-news-today-0814
- https://tradingstrategyguides.com/stock-market-recap-august-14-2026-sp-500-secures-3rd-weekly-gain/
- https://www.investopedia.com/stock-market-today-dow-jones-s-and-p-500-08142026-12059818
- https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/13/stock-market-today-live-updates.html
- https://www.thestreet.com/stock-market-today/stock-market-today-dow-jones-sp-500-nasdaq-updates-aug-14-2026
- https://www.cnbc.com/stock-market-daily-recap/
- https://www.financialjuice.com/News/9722598/Iran-FM-US-must-fulfill-conditions-for-shipping-to-restart-through-Strait-of-Hormuz.aspx
- https://www.financialjuice.com/News/9722601/Iranian-foreign-minister-Tehran-has-not-chosen-to-restart-talks-with-US.aspx
- https://www.financialjuice.com/News/9722439/US-urges-Apple-against-purchasing-Chinese-memory-chips---WSJ.aspx
- https://www.financialjuice.com/News/9722597/Iran-FM-Iran-Oman-discussions-are-distinct-centered-on-maritime-passage-via-Strait-of-Hormuz.aspx
- https://tickerdaily.com/article/stock-market-today-august-14-2026-sandp-500-closes-near-record-highs-on-cooling-inflation
- https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/nvidia-scales-back-250-billion-234356524.html
- https://stocktwits.com/news-articles/markets/equity/nvda-discloses-21-billion-stake-in-spacex-elon-musks-rocket-firm-becomes-nvidias-no-2-holding/cZotyxyRJKP
- https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/jim-cramer-reviews-nvidia-nvda-235846609.html
- https://www.financialjuice.com/News/9722328/Jane-Street-executives-to-employees-July-was-a-poor-month-trading-revenue-turned-negative-for-first-time-since-2016.aspx
- https://www.financialjuice.com/News/9722415/US-oil-output-to-average-1383-million-bpd-in-August-vs-1382-million-bpd-in-July-forecast-1377-million-bpd-in-September-EIA.aspx
- https://stockanalysis.com/markets/losers/
- https://www.tradingview.com/markets/stocks-usa/market-movers-gainers/
- https://stockanalysis.com/markets/gainers/
- https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/gainers/heatmap/
- https://www.investing.com/equities/top-stock-gainers
- https://www.marketbeat.com/market-data/biggest-percentage-gainers/
- https://www.chartmill.com/stock/markets/usa/movers/top-gainers
- https://stockinvest.us/list/gainers
- https://markets.businessinsider.com/index/market-movers/dow_jones?op=1
- https://vittarthi.com/markets/us
- https://www.siriusinvestors.com/stock/market-movers
- https://beststocks.com/market-today
- https://stockmarketwatch.com/movers/premarket
- https://www.marketwatch.com/market-data/us
- https://weeklytrader.io/
- https://www.stockstelegraph.com/market-movers/current-market
- https://www.livemint.com/market/us-market
- https://www.financialjuice.com/News/9722598/
- https://www.financialjuice.com/News/9722601/
- https://www.financialjuice.com/News/9722385/
- https://www.financialjuice.com/News/9722300/
- https://www.financialjuice.com/News/9722328/
- https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/amkor-technology-amkr-6-7-011056792.html
- https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/jfrog-frog-7-4-raising-231159451.html
- https://www.fool.com/investing/2026/08/14/why-hr-block-stock-is-up-this-week/
Trace Index
Tool-call traces are persisted under /srv/swarm_web_runs/run-1786767757861-0002/finance_output/traces.