Jim Cramer said AI data center stocks are drawing attention again after several weeks of weakness, with selling pressure tied to the forced liquidation of leveraged fund Situational Awareness starting to fade. He highlighted Intel, Super Micro, Lumentum, Nebius, CoreWeave and Nvidia as key names regaining traction as company results and financing developments came in stronger than expected. The report said the sector began correcting in late June and stayed weak through July, largely because of liquidity pressure from forced sales. As that unwind nears its end, investor focus has shifted back to operating fundamentals. Intel’s equity sale was reportedly increased from $15 billion to $20 billion on strong demand and fully placed, while Super Micro and Lumentum posted better-than-expected quarterly results. Nebius and CoreWeave also delivered favorable updates. CoreWeave’s earnings were cited as evidence that older-generation Nvidia GPUs are retaining commercial value longer than many had expected. The article also pointed to Nvidia’s recent $500 billion financing plan with six global asset managers to support treating compute infrastructure as collateralizable physical assets. At the macro level, softer U.S. CPI data eased rate pressure, helping growth stocks. In Taiwan, server, cooling and optical communications suppliers had already rebounded ahead of the latest move in U.S. AI infrastructure shares.

U.S. stocks closed mixed after July consumer inflation data came in as expected, easing immediate concern that price pressures were reaccelerating. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.04% for a third straight loss, while the S&P 500 rose 0.26% and the Nasdaq gained 0.54%. According to the report, July CPI rose 0.1% month over month and 3.4% year over year, while core CPI increased 0.2% on the month and 2.5% on the year, with the core annual reading marking its slowest pace since March 2021. Money markets subsequently cut the probability of a September rate hike to 40%, with odds of no change climbing to about 60%. The market’s leadership also shifted sharply. Capital moved out of traditional software and some mega-cap tech names and into AI infrastructure, semiconductors, storage and optical communications. NEBIUS jumped 34.14%, CoreWeave rose 19.28%, Super Micro Computer climbed 19.02% and Lumentum added 13.63%. The report also highlighted continued strength in gold and silver, a pullback in crude after a recent surge, and mounting pressure from the U.S. fiscal deficit and interest burden. Investors are now watching July PPI, upcoming 13F filings and earnings from several technology and semiconductor companies for the next directional cues.

U.S. stocks moved broadly higher on Aug. 12 after supportive CPI data, and several names tied to Michael Burry’s short positions also advanced, according to market data from BIT (bit.com). NBIS was up 20.96% at $233.62, while Micron gained 6.26%, Nvidia rose 2.93%, and SOXX added 2.89%. The move put focus back on Burry’s recently disclosed positioning. In a trading update posted on Substack on Aug. 6, Burry said he had established a direct short equity position in NBIS at about $211.77, describing the position size as relatively large. He also explained why he shorted the stock outright instead of buying put options: implied volatility on the puts was above 100% at the time, making them too expensive. The rally means several of the stocks and instruments identified with his bearish view were trading higher on the day.

A fresh batch of crypto-related developments spans macro data, network operations, market structure and regulation. In the US, July headline CPI came in at 3.4% year over year, matching expectations, while monthly CPI rose 0.1% and core CPI increased 0.2%. On the infrastructure side, Solana liquid staking protocol Marinade said a routing failure at provider Teraswitch briefly pushed 28.83% of staked SOL offline, leaving the network only about 4.5 percentage points away from the 33.34% threshold at which finality would fail. Elsewhere, market maker Wintermute said it plans to invest about $1 billion over the next five years in high-frequency trading and AI data center infrastructure as it expands into equities, commodities, FX and prediction markets. Fidelity is seeking to add ETH staking and quarterly cash distributions to its $898 million Fidelity Ethereum Fund. Strategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor also published BTC Credit model figures, including a $16,184 BTC under-collateralization floor price for STRC. In policy, the SEC is preparing to discuss a tokenized securities "innovation exemption," while Russia’s central bank has proposed allowing non-qualified investors to buy BTC, ETH and USDT under an annual purchase cap.

Federal Reserve watcher Nick Timiraos said the July inflation report came in largely in line with market expectations, easing pressure on the U.S. central bank to raise rates next month. Wall Street is still focused on CPI data as officials weigh the path of policy. Some officials argue that higher rates may still need to stay in place, while also saying the current level of interest rates is already restrictive. They add that elevated inflation is being driven by external shocks rather than overly loose monetary policy. The remarks point to a policy debate that remains centered on inflation data, rate restraint, and whether current settings are already tight enough.

BlockBeats reported on August 12 that the US dollar index moved up about 10 points in the short term after the release of July CPI data, with the latest reading at 99.85. The flash update centered on the immediate market reaction to the inflation report. No further details were provided beyond the currency market move.

BlockBeats reported on August 12 that following the release of the latest CPI data, investors have scaled back their bets on a September interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve. Market pricing now indicates a 45% probability of a September rate hike.

US CPI data published on Aug. 12 drove a brief sell-off across crypto, spot gold and US equity futures, with all three reversing course shortly afterward. Bitcoin slipped from $64,452 to near $64,000 immediately after the release, according to HTX, before rebounding to $64,146.37 at press time, up 0.83% over 24 hours. Nasdaq 100 futures dipped, then extended gains to 0.9%, based on Bitget data. Spot gold fell about $30 before climbing more than $20, last seen at $4,412.38 per ounce. A preliminary market read indicated that US underlying inflation in July was moderate, which could reduce pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise rates. The three markets all showed the same dip-then-rebound pattern after the data.