Private-credit stress and shifting Hormuz signals frame a rebound from morning lows

QQQ opened down 1.77% and SPY opened down 1.35%, then both recovered to finish nearly flat at gains of 0.08% and 0.10%. Private-credit redemption stress, Federal Reserve policy comments, labor data, and shifting Hormuz headlines formed the day's main context. SPY finished ahead by 0.02 percentage points.

Published Aug 12, 2026

QQQ: +0.08%
SPY: +0.10%
QQQ − SPY: -0.02%

What shaped the session

Labor signal

Weekly initial jobless claims were 202,000, below the 212,000 forecast and the prior 211,000 reading.

Private-credit stress

Blue Owl faced more than $4 billion in unfulfilled redemption requests, with requests at one fund reaching 21.9%.

Fed policy stance

Dallas Fed President Logan said she supported holding the policy rate steady at the latest FOMC meeting.

Hormuz and infrastructure risk

Reports said Iran and Oman drafted a Hormuz transit agreement, while Iran separately said it struck an Amazon cloud center in Bahrain.

Key news

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←Apr 1:QQQ leads as firm data meets Iran risk and chip investment·View all April 2026 QQQ/SPY reviews·Apr 3:Good Friday headlines turn to jobs surprise and Hormuz pressure→