The major U.S. stock indices closed mostly higher on Wednesday, with the Dow industrial average slipping 0.04%. The Nasdaq 100 led the advance with a gain of 0.74%.

The move came as investors digested the July CPI report, which showed inflation moderating slightly and helped ease concerns about additional Federal Reserve tightening. With the latest inflation data in hand, attention shifted back to earnings, especially in sectors tied to artificial intelligence and infrastructure where demand has remained a major market theme.

Closing levels

• Dow Industrial Average: 53,775.39, -22.00 points, or -0.04%
• S&P 500: 7,748.50, +20.29 points, or +0.26%
• Nasdaq Composite: 26,588.49, +143.04 points, or +0.54%
• Russell 2000: 3,045.49, +18.37 points, or +0.61%
• Nasdaq 100: 29,742.60, +217.13 points, or +0.74%

The Russell 2000 closed at a new record high, topping its previous record close of 3,036.98 set on August.

Nebius Group (NBIS) shares surged about 34.14% after the AI infrastructure company delivered a strong second-quarter report, driven by rapid growth in its AI cloud business.

The company reported revenue of $582.3 million versus an estimate of $569 million, up 454% year over year. AI cloud revenue came in at about $575 million, up 514% year over year. Annual recurring revenue reached $3 billion, while adjusted EBITDA was $236 million, compared with a $21 million loss a year earlier. Nebius reaffirmed its 2026 outlook.

Management said demand for AI computing capacity continues to significantly exceed available supply. Nebius, which provides Nvidia-powered AI computing capacity to customers including Microsoft, continues to benefit from surging demand for AI infrastructure. The results showed both exceptional revenue growth and a sharp improvement in profitability, but they also highlighted the scale of spending needed to keep up with customer demand.

Investors remain focused on capital spending. Meeting the huge demand for AI computing requires Nebius to invest billions of dollars upfront in GPUs, data centers, and other infrastructure. That leaves a central question for investors: can Nebius continue converting massive AI demand into profitable growth while managing the large capital needs required to expand capacity?

Other AI chip and data-center related gainers included:

• CoreWeave (CRWV): $107.73, +19.28%
• Lumentum (LITE): $932.47, +13.63%
• Bloom Energy (BE): $237.16, +12.29%
• Skyworks Solutions (SWKS): $154.41, +9.01%
• Credo Technology (CRDO): $268.16, +8.26%
• Coherent (COHR): $355.64, +8.24%
• Arista Networks (ANET): $210.50, +6.39%
• SanDisk (SNDK): $1,344.29, +5.76%

Overall, the day’s gainers had a strong AI and data-center infrastructure focus, with Nebius and CoreWeave leading the move and optical and networking names including Lumentum, Credo, Coherent, and Arista also posting sizable gains. The breadth of the move suggested investors were not just reacting to one company’s results, but also reassessing the earnings power of suppliers and infrastructure providers linked to AI buildouts.

After the close, Cisco reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.22, compared with $1.17 expected. Revenue was $17.3 billion, versus $16.8 billion expected. The company also guided for revenue of $18 billion to $18.2 billion, above the $16.8 billion expected.

However, Cisco said EPS is expected to be lower at $1.08 to $1.10, versus $1.16 expected, with year-on-year EPS expected at $4 to $4.06 versus $4.28 expected. Cisco shares were up 2.82% in after-hours trading.