The S&P 500 cleared 7,800 points for the first time ever on Thursday, and it wasn't just a grind higher. It was a decisive move, powered by a second straight soft inflation print that all but shut the door on a September rate hike. Semiconductors did the heavy lifting, and the market rewarded them handsomely.
Let's start with the star of the show: SanDisk Corp. (SNDK) soared 15% after unveiling a new optimistic roadmap at its investor day. The memory maker now expects roughly 80% non-GAAP gross margin, a 50% adjusted free-cash-flow margin, and 100% return of excess cash. That's a bold promise, and the market ate it up.
The macro story did the rest of the work. Headline producer prices were flat in July against expectations for a 0.2% rise, and core PPI also undershot, echoing Wednesday's cooler consumer inflation report that showed the annual rate easing to 3.4%. Initial jobless claims rose to 209,000 for the week ended Aug. 8, up 9,000 from the prior week. That combination pushed the odds of a Federal Reserve rate hike at the Sept. 16 FOMC meeting down to roughly 34% from about 55% a week ago, with the fed funds target sitting at 3.75%.
Traders have also largely faded the Hormuz headline risk this week, and crude is drifting lower as a result. West Texas Intermediate slipped 1% to $82.43 a barrel by midday, while Brent fell 0.9% to $88.16, dipping below $87 intraday before recovering.
So where did the indices land? The S&P 500 rose 0.5% to 7,783.90 by midday trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average bucked the trend, easing 0.1% to 53,693.18, or down 77 points. The Nasdaq 100 outperformed, climbing 0.9% to 30,012.45. The Russell 2000 lagged the rally, adding 0.2% to 3,050.83. Gold went the other way, sliding 1.1% to $4,361 an ounce as firmer risk appetite drained haven demand.
Thursday's Performance In Major U.S. Indices
According to market data:
- The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) rose 0.5%.
- The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) slipped 0.1%.
- The Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) climbed 0.9%.
- The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) gained 0.2%.
Memory Mania Lifts Chips
The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) led all sectors with a 1.1% gain, extending a month-to-date advance of 8.9%. The Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLRE) rose 1.1% and the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLC) added 1%, both benefiting from the retreat in yields.
At the industry level, the split was stark. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) jumped 1.8%. The iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF (ITB) rose 1.1% and the Vanguard Real Estate ETF (VNQ) added 1% as rates eased. On the other side, the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX) cratered 3.6% alongside the drop in bullion, and the SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF (XME) fell 1.3%.
Storage and memory names were the session's clearest theme. Western Digital Corp. (WDC) rallied 8.3% to $491.71 in sympathy with SanDisk's 15% jump. Micron Technology Inc. (MU) rose 5% and SK Hynix Inc. (SKHY) soared 8%.
Super Micro Computer Inc. (SMCI) advanced 7.6% to $40.47, a fourth straight session of gains since its Aug. 11 fiscal fourth-quarter report showed adjusted EPS of $1.70 against consensus near 96 cents and revenue of $11.1 billion, nearly double a year earlier.
Outside of tech, Birkenstock Holding plc (BIRK) surged 14% to $41.89 after third-quarter revenue rose 15% in constant currency. SOLV Energy, Inc. (MWH) jumped 8.3% to $32.59 after second-quarter revenue climbed 77% year over year to $951 million, adjusted EBITDA reached $117 million, backlog grew 44% to about $8.9 billion, and the company raised full-year guidance.
The losers' table was dominated by earnings reactions. Tapestry Inc. (TPR) plunged 14.5% to $131.46 as fiscal 2027 revenue guidance of $8.4 billion to $8.5 billion came in below the $8.47 billion consensus at the midpoint and Kate Spade net sales fell 10% year over year, leaving the company leaning almost entirely on Coach. YETI Holdings, Inc. (YETI) tumbled 12.6% to $44.45 despite a beat and a raise.
Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO) slid 9% to $112.69 even after guiding fiscal 2027 revenue to $72.2 billion-$73.4 billion versus a $68.69 billion estimate and adjusted EPS to $5.05-$5.11 against $4.80 expected. The sticking point was gross margin, seen stepping down to roughly 64.5% — about 150 basis points below Street forecasts — on a heavier hardware and cloud mix, a hard sell after a more than 60% run in the shares this year.
Fermi Inc. (FRMI) dropped 9.7% to $6.86 after second-quarter results that included a $6.5 billion customer agreement for its Project Matador AI power campus alongside a $431 million convertible note raise, with the dilution and cash-burn profile outweighing the commercial win. Dillard's, Inc. (DDS) fell 5.9% to $598.60 despite second-quarter EPS of $6.25 that beat consensus by nearly 45%.
