The Week in One Thought

Inflation kept the Fed in focus, while AI spending kept delivering.

Stocks bounced Friday but still finished a volatile shortened week lower. Hotter inflation and elevated oil prices strengthened expectations for a Fed rate hike next week, while Oracle, Dell and SpaceX gave investors fresh evidence that AI infrastructure spending remains strong.

The Market: Friday Bounce Couldn't Erase the Week's Losses

The S&P 500 rose about 0.9% Friday, the Dow gained about 1.0% and the Nasdaq added about 1.0% as oil prices eased. Even with the rebound, the S&P 500 finished the week down about 0.8%, the Dow lost 1.6% and the Nasdaq fell about 0.7%.

3.4%August CPI, year over year
5.4%August PPI, year over year
~85%Fed hike odds after CPI

Dagger Trading Take

Inflation didn't break the market, but it changed the setup.

August CPI rose 0.4% for the month and core CPI rose 0.3%, while Thursday's PPI also showed firm price pressure. The market now heads into next week's Fed meeting with a rate hike heavily priced in.

SPCX: The CFO Gave Investors Plenty to Talk About

SpaceX CFO Bret Johnsen used Thursday's Goldman Sachs conference to outline several major growth drivers. SpaceX disclosed a new AI compute agreement worth roughly $1.11 billion per month, discussed plans to reach about $100 billion in AI annual recurring revenue by year-end, and said Starship's 14th flight later this month is expected to carry next-generation Starlink V3 satellites.

The company also continues working toward orbital AI infrastructure beginning in 2027. For SPCX traders, this was one of the most important company-specific updates of the week.

Read the Updated SPCX Spotlight

DELL: AI Infrastructure Trade Comes Back to Life

Dell surged Friday as Oracle's results reinforced confidence that spending on AI data centers remains strong. Dell remains one of the clearest hardware beneficiaries of the AI infrastructure buildout, and Friday's move put the stock back in focus after a volatile week.

Read the Updated DELL Spotlight

ORCL: AI Cloud Demand Remains Huge

Oracle beat quarterly expectations with revenue of $19.3 billion, up 30% from a year earlier. The company added more than $30 billion in new AI cloud contracts during the quarter and reported a massive $664 billion revenue backlog. Shares moved higher after the report.

Read the Updated ORCL Spotlight

ADBE: Beat the Quarter, Guidance Was the Problem

Adobe reported revenue of $6.76 billion, ahead of expectations, while annual recurring revenue from AI-first products more than doubled year over year. But its fourth-quarter revenue outlook came in slightly below Wall Street expectations, and shares initially fell after hours.

AAPL: A Major Product Reveal, Muted Stock Reaction

Apple unveiled its first foldable iPhone along with the iPhone 18 Pro lineup at Wednesday's product event. Despite one of Apple's biggest hardware announcements in years, the stock reaction was relatively muted, another example of how heavily anticipated catalysts can become sell-the-news events.

Other Stocks That Mattered

KR cut its annual same-store sales outlook Friday as consumers remained cautious, although earnings beat expectations. The report added another piece to the mixed consumer picture heading into the fall.

What the Week Taught Us

The macro story and the AI story are pulling the market in different directions. Inflation and higher rates remain a headwind, but spending on AI infrastructure continues to show real strength through Oracle, Dell and SpaceX.

Strong stories still need strong price reactions. Momentum is key.

Next Week

The Fed takes center stage.

The Federal Reserve's September 15–16 meeting is now the market's biggest scheduled catalyst. After strong jobs data and firm CPI/PPI readings, traders will be watching the rate decision and Fed commentary closely.

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Sources

Content is educational and informational only and is not financial advice.