The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq ended higher on Aug 12, lifted by upbeat quarterly results from CoreWeave and other AI infrastructure firms, while mild inflation data reinforced bets that the US Federal Reserve will hold interest rates steady in September.US consumer prices barely increased in July as the cost of gasoline declined for a second straight month, while underlying inflation was benign, further reducing expectations of an interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve in September.“The numbers came in right in line. The market’s reaction is slightly positive because the market was fearful it was going to come in worse than it did. You’re seeing a market thinking that the Fed is not being pushed toward a rate hike,” said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth in Fairfield, Connecticut.CoreWeave surged 19 per cent after the AI cloud company lifted its annual capital spending forecast and topped second-quarter earnings estimates. Data center operators also rose, with IREN gaining almost 10 per cent and Applied Digital up 4.9 per cent.Data centre company Nebius Group jumped 34 per cent, helped by second-quarter results that beat expectations. Super Micro Computer surged 19 per cent after the AI server maker forecast fiscal 2027 revenue above Wall Street expectations.Chipmakers gained, with Nvidia rising 3 per cent and Micron Technology adding 4.9 per cent. The PHLX Semiconductor Index advanced about 2.5 per cent. It remains down about 15 per cent from its record-high close on June 22.The S&P 500 climbed 0.26 per cent to end the session at 7,748.50 points. The benchmark is up about 13 per cent so far in 2026.The Nasdaq gained 0.54 per cent to 26,588.49 points for the session, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.04 per cent to 53,770.27 points.Eight of the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes rose, led by real estate, up 1.08 per cent, followed by a 1.06 per cent gain in information technology.Wall Street’s fear gauge, the Cboe Volatility Index, dipped 0.8 point to 14.45, its lowest level since January. Traders are now pricing in a 62 per cent chance of the Fed holding rates at its September meeting, according to CME’s FedWatch Tool. Before the July inflation data was released, bets were split between a hike and no change.The conflict between the US and Iran remained volatile as a senior Iranian source said there had been no progress in talks to revive the interim deal reached in June and define a time frame to implement it, while shipping attacks continued.Cava Group advanced 14.2 per cent after the restaurant chain beat Wall Street expectations for second-quarter sales and core profit. Lumentum Holdings surged 13.6 per cent after the photonic product maker forecast first-quarter revenue above analysts’ expectations and beat fourth-quarter estimates.Across the US stock market, advancing stocks outnumbered falling ones by a 1.7-to-one ratio.The S&P 500 posted 19 new highs and 2 new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 123 new highs and 95 new lows.Volume on US exchanges was relatively light, with 15.5 billion shares traded, compared with an average of 17.5 billion shares over the previous 20 sessions. REUTERS