August 17 Stock Market Report: U.S. Market Holds Steady as Nvidia Retains Top Spot

On August 14, 2026, Cisco Systems closed the U.S. session at $113.47, down 0.08% from the previous day. Micron rose 0.04% to $949.83, and Tesla followed suit, climbing 0.04% to $339.96, effectively settling at the flatline. Most major stocks tallied that day remained trapped in a narrow trading band within ±0.05%.

Micro-Moves Keep Indices Flat

It was a directionless session. The S&P 500 ETF (SPY) rose 0.01% to 777.88, while the index-tracking VOO closed at 714.95, and the Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) at 732.07, each up just 0.01%. Palantir, which saw the steepest gain, rose only 0.05%, while Cisco was the sole decliner. The day is interpreted as one where buyers and sellers reached an equilibrium after testing the waters.

Market capitalization rankings remained unshaken. Nvidia held onto the top spot at 5.46 trillion won, followed by Apple at 4.46 trillion won, Alphabet (GOOGL) at 4.24 trillion won, Microsoft at 3.69 trillion won, and Amazon at 2.86 trillion won. The landscape for large-cap stocks appears to have solidified amidst minor fluctuations.

Valuation Gaps Revealed by Stock Data

Ticker	Price	Change	Market Cap	PER	EPS Growth
Cisco	113.47	-0.08%	0.45T won	34.2	3125.0%
Micron	949.83	+0.04%	1.07T won	20.6	-
Tesla	339.96	+0.04%	1.34T won	311.9	-4709.0%
Palantir	179.01	+0.05%	0.43T won	154.3	22857.1%
Intel	104.56	+0.04%	0.55T won	-	9865.5%
Nvidia	225.3	+0.01%	5.46T won	34.5	6599.3%
Alphabet (GOOGL)	346.36	+0.01%	4.24T won	17.4	3419.4%
Apple	305.26	+0.01%	4.46T won	34.6	2258.6%

The most striking indicator in the table is the valuation (PER) gap. Tesla’s 311.9 is over nine times that of Apple (34.6), while Palantir (154.3) and AMD (123.5) also maintain triple-digit valuations. On the other end of the spectrum, Berkshire Hathaway recorded the lowest at 12.8, followed by JPMorgan at 15.6 and Alphabet at 17.4. The fact that Alphabet, with a market cap in the 4 trillion won range, trades at a price-to-earnings ratio nearly ten times cheaper than Microsoft (27.4) is evidence of a significant disparity even within mega-caps.

Based on EPS growth rates, Tesla stands at -4709.0% while Palantir is at +22857.1%. The key takeaway from this data is that even among high-P/E stocks, earnings performance is moving in opposite directions.

Cisco’s Decline Signals Capital Flow

Cisco is a legacy IT firm centered on network equipment. Despite a clear earnings improvement trend with an EPS growth rate of 3125.0%, it was the only stock to record a loss. This confirms that investment capital is structurally flowing more deeply into AI-dedicated semiconductors and foundry facilities rather than general network infrastructure.

The sentiment in the AI semiconductor sector differs. Nvidia posted an EPS growth rate of 6599.3% with a PER of 34.5, while Intel rose 0.04% on the back of a 9865.5% earnings improvement despite reporting a deficit (rendering its PER incalculable). TSMC (2.23 trillion won) and Broadcom (1.99 trillion won, PER 69.4), as well as ASML (+0.02%), also held their ground. Micron’s PER of 20.6 places it in the lowest range among major chipmakers, suggesting room for re-rating if memory demand recovery translates to profits. However, in this session, it was bound by the overall market consolidation and showed no distinct direction.

What the Domestic Market Will Reflect After the Holiday

The domestic market will be closed on the 17th. According to the financial investment industry, the KOSPI, KOSDAQ, and KONEX are all closed for the Liberation Day substitute holiday. Overseas volatility accumulated over the weekend and holiday is likely to be reflected sequentially upon opening on the 18th.

Supply and demand variables are also worth watching. Although domestic retail investors sold U.S. and Hong Kong stocks on a net basis in the second quarter of this year, securities firms posted record-breaking earnings from overseas stock trading commissions. This implies that trading turnover was actually active during the process of reducing holdings. As the U.S. semiconductor sector remained flat, the fluctuation range of related domestic stocks on the 18th is also expected to be limited. The combination of high valuation and sluggish earnings shown by Tesla (-4709.0%), Meta (-256.0%), and AbbVie (PER 70.9 with EPS -125.0%) is likely to serve as a similar benchmark for evaluating domestic growth stocks.