US Midday: Consumer Sentiment Misses Sharply; Tesla Rallies on Flying Roadster Buzz

Major US indices traded in a narrow range on August 14 after the preliminary University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for August plunged to 51, well below the 55 consensus and the prior 55.2. Near-term inflation expectations climbed to 4.3%, and only 8% of consumers believed income growth could outpace inflation, souring overall market sentiment.

On the stock front, Tesla bucked the trend, lifted by headlines about a flying sports car. The semiconductor sector was broadly muted, with Nvidia consolidating narrowly around $225. Select fintech and AI cloud names saw active trading — Nu Holdings surged over 8% and Nebius jumped nearly 7%. Small-cap biotech stocks experienced extreme volatility.

Tesla Gains Nearly 1% as Flying Roadster Buzz Builds

At press time, Tesla (TSLA) was up 0.59% at $341.95. According to The Information, the new Tesla Roadster could debut as soon as this month, showcasing flight capabilities including autonomous driving and remote-controlled flying, with demonstrations planned at SpaceX's Texas test site. The vehicle is co-developed by Tesla and SpaceX and incorporates aerospace technology. Tesla rallied as much as 3% intraday on the news.

Nvidia Flat; Data Center Revenue Soars 92%

At press time, Nvidia (NVDA) edged down 0.04% to $225.20. The company's fiscal 2027 Q1 data center revenue surged 92% year-over-year to a record $81.6 billion, with Q2 guidance targeting $91 billion. Nvidia also advanced its open-source AI efforts, launching Nemotron 3.5 Lightning, while CEO Jensen Huang argued that free AI would accelerate hardware adoption. Analyst consensus remains Buy with an average price target of $325.74.

SpaceX Slips 1% After $60 Billion Cursor Acquisition Closes

At press time, SpaceX (SPCX) fell 1.15% to $139.67. The company completed its $60 billion acquisition of AI coding startup Cursor, effective August 14, aiming to integrate Cursor's efficient coding assistant to optimize AI tool development and narrow the gap with Anthropic and OpenAI.

Among other movers, Nu Holdings (NU) rose 8.76% to $15.15; Micron Technology (MU) added 1.31% to $962.23; Nebius (NBIS) climbed 6.65% to $272. In the biotech space, Capricor Therapeutics (CAPR) skyrocketed 52.73%, while Blaize (BZAI) plunged 47.50% and CXApp (CXAI) dropped 38.79%.