Another sharp selloff in semiconductors dragged the Nasdaq 100 down more than 1% by midday Thursday, extending a negative week for tech. But beneath the surface, the market was sharply split. Strength in defensive and value names offset weakness concentrated in chips and speculative tech, sending money down the market-cap ladder.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.2% to around 7,554, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added roughly 90 points, or 0.2%, to about 52,749. The Nasdaq 100 bore the brunt of the selling, dropping about 1.6% to near 29,032 as chip producers cratered on skepticism that AI hyperscalers could throttle capital spending. The small-cap Russell 2000 bucked the tech weakness to rise 0.3% to about 2,985, outperforming as investors rotated toward rate-sensitive and domestically focused names.
The West Texas Intermediate crude benchmark hovered near one-month highs around $79.5 a barrel, little changed on the day but up roughly 4.6% for the month. Brent held near $84.90 a barrel as maritime restrictions in the Persian Gulf and threats to Red Sea shipping lanes kept a bid under fuel prices.
Precious metals took a beating as real yields climbed. Gold – tracked by the SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) – dropped 1.8% to around $3,990 an ounce. Silver plunged 3.2% to $55 an ounce.
Thursday's Performance In Major US Indices
According to market data:
- The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) slipped 0.2%.
- The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) rose 0.2%.
- The Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) fell 1.6%.
- The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) gained 0.3%.
Chips Crater After Wild Run
The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP) and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) shared the lead among S&P 500 sectors, each up about 2.2% as money rotated into defensives. Health care was propelled by a pair of earnings blowouts: UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH) surged around 4% after posting adjusted earnings of $6.38 per share – roughly 30% above the $4.91 consensus – on $112 billion in revenue and lifting its full-year adjusted EPS outlook to $19.50–$20.00, with the medical care ratio falling to 86.7% from 89.4% a year earlier.
The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) sank 2.4% as the semiconductor complex unraveled on fears AI hyperscalers could pull forward capex cuts, compounded by South Korea's ban on leveraged ETFs.
The selling came in spite of a blowout print from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM), which reported second-quarter revenue of $40.2 billion, up 33.7% year-over-year, and lifted its full-year capital budget to $60-$64 billion on AI demand.
SanDisk Corp. (SNDK) fell 11.2% as the memory maker was swept up in the AI-chip selloff.
Earnings drove the day's biggest single-name gains. Abbott Laboratories (ABT) jumped 10.6% after adjusted EPS of $1.31 topped the $1.28 estimate and the company raised its full-year outlook to $5.45-$5.60. Cintas Corp. (CTAS) rose 6.9% after fiscal fourth-quarter revenue grew 8.9% to $2.91 billion with a record 51.0% gross margin, and J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) climbed 6.8% after Q2 revenue rose 19% to $3.50 billion and EPS jumped 45% to $1.91 on a 22% intermodal gain.
The losers' table was a washout of speculative growth. AST SpaceMobile Inc. (ASTS) tumbled 17.3% after pricing a second $1 billion convertible note offering this year, reviving dilution fears. Rocket Lab Corp. (RKLB) fell 12.7% on continued concern over its Iridium deal financing and insider selling, and Planet Labs PBC (PL) dropped 12.7% in sympathy with the broader space-sector selloff. Bloom Energy Corp. (BE) slid 11.4%, extending losses tied to a Hunterbrook Capital short report questioning its scandium supply chain, alongside profit-taking after a sharp AI-power run.
