S&P 500 closes 0.32% lower at 7,728.20 as Alphabet falls 3.84% on AI spending
S&P 500 close: 7,728.20 (-0.32%) Nasdaq: 26,445.44 (-0.60%) | Dow: 53,791.85 (-0.34%) | Russell 2000: 3,027.12 (+0.32%) Sentiment: mixed
The S&P 500 closed at 7,728.20 on 11 August 2026, down 24.91 points or 0.32%, with the decline concentrated in the index heavyweights rather than the wider market. GOOGL.US fell 3.84% to $343.80 after Alphabet raised its 2026 capital spending guidance to a $195 billion to $205 billion range and closed a $25 billion senior notes offering to fund data center construction. The Russell 2000 rose 0.32% and energy gained 1.25% as WTI crude added 1.34% to $83.23 on stalled US and Iran talks over the Strait of Hormuz.
What moved the index
- Alphabet: GOOGL.US -3.84% and GOOG.US -3.61%, worth roughly 16 bps of the 32 bps index decline. Capital expenditure guidance moved to $195 billion to $205 billion for 2026 from $180 billion to $190 billion, and quarterly capex of $44.9 billion turned free cash flow negative for the first time.
- Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Netflix and Broadcom: AAPL.US -1.09%, AMZN.US -2.09%, MSFT.US -0.44%, NFLX.US -1.97% and AVGO.US -1.50%, together about 24 bps. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.60%, twice the S&P 500 decline.
- Oracle, Adobe and AppLovin: ORCL.US -3.69%, ADBE.US -3.39% and APP.US -5.99%, about 7 bps on the same margin question around AI infrastructure spending.
- Energy, utilities and industrials: +1.25%, +1.16% and +0.60% added roughly 15 bps back. KKR.US +6.88% and APO.US +6.26% after Nvidia named both among six managers assembling more than $500 billion of third party capital for AI data centers.
Those four groups account for about 32 bps of the 32 bps index move. Seven of eleven S&P sectors closed lower while the Russell 2000 finished up 0.32%, which puts the day's selling inside the largest index members.
Session highlights
- GOOGL.US -3.84% to $343.80 was the single largest drag on the index, with Class C shares GOOG.US down 3.61% to $343.00.
- WTI crude +1.34% to $83.23 and Brent at $88.95 after Iran's foreign minister ruled out restarting negotiations under current conditions.
- KKR.US +6.88%, APO.US +6.26% and STEP.US +7.28% on the Nvidia financing consortium disclosed Monday, which also named Blackstone, BlackRock, Brookfield and Goldman Sachs.
- VIX 15.28, down 1.16%, holding below 16 through the decline.
- US 10 year Treasury yield 4.68%, down 2 bps, and the dollar index at 99.83, up 0.02%, ahead of Wednesday's July CPI release.
Sector scorecard
- Best: Energy +1.25%
- Worst: Real Estate -0.72%
- Dispersion (best minus worst): 1.97 pts
- Utilities +1.16%, Industrials +0.60% and Materials +0.11% were the only other sectors to finish higher. Communication Services -0.50% holds Alphabet and Netflix, the two names that set it. Technology finished at -0.12%, with AMD.US +1.01% and MU.US +0.87% offsetting the software declines.
Top movers
| Ticker | Move | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| NIQ.US | +41.95% | Q2 adjusted EPS $0.27 beat by $0.07 on sales of $1.12 billion |
| FRMI.US | +21.09% | $6.5 billion, 15 year TensorWave lease at its Texas data center |
| NN.US | +15.55% | SpaceX letter to the FCC backed its 900 MHz spectrum plan |
| SE.US | +14.56% | Q2 EPS $0.86 vs $0.79, revenue $7.8 billion vs $7.27 billion |
| RNW.US | +11.75% | CPP Investments take private agreed at $7.02 per share |
| LIF.US | -24.76% | Q2 EPS $0.06 missed $0.08 and full year guidance was left unchanged |
| ONON.US | -20.29% | Q2 sales CHF 850.3 million missed; FY26 growth cut to low 20% |
| HUBG.US | -19.75% | Filed a Form 12b-25 delaying its June quarter 10-Q |
| ETOR.US | -13.74% | Net income $53 million missed $55.1 million; July crypto trades fell 73% |
| TME.US | -11.92% | Q2 revenue RMB 8.93 billion, up 5.8%, with profit growth of 2.6% |
After-hours earnings
SMCI.US reported fiscal fourth quarter results after the close on 11 August 2026. Revenue of $11.1 billion fell short of the $11.55 billion expected, EPS of $1.62 beat the $0.96 expected, and FY27 sales guidance of $65 billion to $72 billion came in against roughly $52.5 billion of consensus. First quarter guidance of $14.5 billion to $15.5 billion compared with $11.68 billion expected. The stock traded about 8.5% higher after the bell.
CRWV.US closed the regular session up 2.42% at $90.32, then posted Q2 revenue of $2.58 billion against $2.56 billion expected and an adjusted loss of $1.03 per share against a $1.20 loss expected. Revenue rose 112% from a year earlier. The revenue backlog reached $104 billion, excluding $25 billion of third quarter commitments, and the shares rose in extended trading.
Notable announcements
- Alphabet closed a $25 billion senior notes offering with maturities running from 2028 to 2066 to fund data center construction.
- Nvidia named Apollo, Blackstone, BlackRock, Brookfield, Goldman Sachs and KKR to raise more than $500 billion of third party capital for hyperscaler and AI lab data centers.
- ReNew Energy Global agreed a take private with CPP Investments and founder Sumant Sinha at $7.02 per share in cash.
- eToro agreed to buy TradeZero for up to $231 million in cash and stock, expanding its US brokerage.
- Hub Group filed a Form 12b-25 with the SEC, delaying the 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 June, after the restatement disclosed in February.
Next session catalysts (ET)
- Wed 08:30: July CPI. Consensus is +0.1% for the month and 3.4% year on year, with core at +0.2% and 2.5%.
- Wed 16:05: CSCO.US reports fiscal Q4, having guided to revenue of $16.7 billion to $16.9 billion and non-GAAP EPS of $1.16 to $1.18.
- Wed: the federal funds target stands at 3.50% to 3.75% after the 29 July FOMC hold, and the CPI print is the main input into the September meeting.
- Thu 13 Aug: FRMI.US reports, its first result since the TensorWave lease.
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