QQQ and SPY lose opening gains, fall about 0.26%, and finish nearly even amid rate and Hormuz risks

QQQ fell 0.26% and SPY fell 0.27%, leaving the two ETFs essentially even after their modest opening gains faded. Both reached their session lows near 14:30 ET, recovered only part of the decline after hours, and then held steady overnight through 04:00 ET. Direct policy commentary, physical oil flows and shipping security around Hormuz, and fresh AI demand measures provided the main background.

Published Aug 12, 2026

QQQ: -0.26%
SPY: -0.27%
QQQ − SPY: +0.00%

What shaped the session

Inflation and policy path

Atlanta Fed's Venable said inflation remained too high and linked future price pressure to the Middle East conflict. Overnight, Collins said she could support a September rate increase if elevated inflation persisted.

Hormuz energy and shipping

The U.S. Energy Secretary put the seven-day average of oil leaving Hormuz at almost 9 million barrels per day. U.S. Central Command also reported a missile strike on a commercial ship headed toward an Iranian port.

AI demand and adoption

CoreWeave reported second-quarter revenue growth of 112% and a $104 billion backlog. Google said Gemini surpassed 1 billion monthly active users, pairing infrastructure demand with a large consumer-adoption measure.

Key news

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←Aug 10:Morning gains fade as QQQ falls 0.42% and trails SPY by 0.31 points amid Apple and AI-capital news·View all August 2026 QQQ/SPY reviews·Aug 12:CPI detail and 98%-99% TSMC CoWoS yields accompany QQQ's 0.35-point edge after gains narrow→