U.S. stocks ended lower on August 12, with the Nasdaq Composite down 0.6%, the S&P 500 off 0.32% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lower by about 184 points, extending a second straight decline for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq ahead of Wednesday's U.S. CPI report. CNN's Fear & Greed Index fell to 60.7 from 64.7 but remained in the Greed zone as technology shares weakened, consumer discretionary, real estate and communication services lagged, and investors monitored Iran-related tensions after President Donald Trump said Tehran should pay for war damages. Markets were looking for headline inflation to cool to 3.4% from 3.5%, with core CPI seen at 2.5%; July NFIB small-business optimism rose to 99.8 from 97.4, while existing home sales fell 1.7% to a 4.06 million annualized rate. Energy and utilities rose, Cardinal Health gained 1.3% after quarterly results, Quantum jumped about 65% on stronger-than-expected earnings and guidance, and selected AI names outperformed even as CoreWeave and Lumentum rallied after the bell.