Wall Street got two market-moving checks on Wednesday, August 26: July PCE data before the bell and Nvidia's second-quarter results after the close. Josh Lipton previewed the day as one that could set the tone for trading, with investors trying to read inflation pressure on one side and AI demand on the other.
The inflation release matters because economists were expecting headline PCE to rise after June's 0.1 percent decline, while core PCE was also seen moving higher month over month. That makes the report the latest read on whether price pressures are cooling enough to keep the market's attention on growth, or sticky enough to keep traders cautious.
Nvidia is the other headline draw. Wall Street was looking for another beat and raise, along with sales up 96% from a year earlier and data center revenue alone topping 85 billion. Investors also wanted to hear what the company had to say about hyperscaler demand and whether the massive AI spending boom could keep producing returns.
That is the catch. Nvidia had been through a choppy quarter, but the bar was still set high. Investors were weighing whether the chip giant could keep turning intense AI spending into results, even as the market expected another strong report. The same day, CrowdStrike was also due to report, with investors looking for clues about AI driven security demand after a strong run that had raised expectations there too.
For traders, the setup leaves little room to look away. The PCE data will answer one question about inflation, while Nvidia and CrowdStrike will answer another about whether AI is still delivering the kind of growth Wall Street has been pricing in. By the time the market closes on Wednesday, August 26, the day's biggest test will already be in hand.
