How major US stock indexes fared Tuesday, 8/12/2025

Key Points

• The U.S. stock market hit new record highs with the S&P 500, Dow, and Nasdaq all increasing on Tuesday, reflecting positive investor sentiment.
• The S&P 500 and Dow both rose by 1.1%, while the Nasdaq gained 1.4%, driven by better-than-expected inflation data that may lead to interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
• In the weekly overview, the S&P 500 and Dow are up 0.9% and 0.6% respectively, while the Nasdaq has increased by 1.1%.
• Year-to-date, the S&P 500 has advanced 9.6%, the Dow is up 4.5%, and the Nasdaq has surged 12.3%.

The U.S. stock market rallied to more records after data suggested inflation across the country was a touch better last month than economists expected.

The S&P 500 rose 1.1% Tuesday, beating its all-time high set two weeks ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.1%, while the Nasdaq composite climbed 1.4% to its own record.

Stocks got a lift from hopes that the better-than-expected inflation report will give the Federal Reserve leeway to cut interest rates at its next meeting in September. Lower rates can give the economy and investment prices a boost.

On Tuesday:

The S&P 500 rose 72.31 points, or 1.1%, to 6,445.76.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 483.52 points, or 1.1%, to 44,458.61.

The Nasdaq composite rose 296.50 points, or 1.4%, to 21,681.90.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 66.27 points, or 3%, to 2,282.78.

For the week:

The S&P 500 is up 56.31 points, or 0.9%.

The Dow is up 283.00 points, or 0.6%.

The Nasdaq is up 231.88 points, or 1.1%.

The Russell 2000 is up 64.36 points, or 2.9%.

For the year:

The S&P 500 is up 564.13 points, or 9.6%.

The Dow is up 1,914.39 points, or 4.5%.

The Nasdaq is up 2,371.11 points, or 12.3%.

The Russell 2000 is up 52.62 points, or 2.4%.