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Major stock indexes were mostly lower in early trading on a busy earnings Thursday, as shares of chipmakers weighed on the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500, but those of UnitedHealth Group helped keep the Dow Jones Industrial Average slightly in positive territory.
The tech-focused Nasdaq and benchmark S&P 500 were down a respective 1% and 0.4%, while the blue-chip Dow ticked 0.1% higher.
Yesterday, major stock indexes closed higher as investors digested a raft of earnings reports and wholesale inflation reading unexpectedly declined.
However, memory stocks retreated Wednesday, and they fell further at the bell. U.S.-listed shares of South Korean firm SK Hynix (SKHY) were down 6% after dropping 9% yesterday, and the Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM) declined 4.5% following a 6% pullback, with components Micron Technology (MU), Sandisk (SNDK), and Seagate Technology Holdings (STX) down roughly 2.5% to 5% after sharp losses in the prior session.
U.S.-listed shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM) slipped 1.5% even though the world’s largest contract chipmaker reported better-than-expected results amid strong demand for AI chips.
UnitedHealth Group (UNH) shares, however, jumped 8% after the company lifted its full-year profit outlook following better-than-expected quarterly results. GE Aerospace (GE), which also reported earnings before the bell, fell 3%. Netflix (NFLX) edged lower ahead of its results after markets close today.
The Magnificent Seven mega-cap tech stocks were mixed after all but Tesla (TSLA) ended higher yesterday. Tesla led early declines at 1.5%. Shares of Elon Musk-led SpaceX (SPCX) ticked higher after briefly falling below their IPO price of $135 for the first time yesterday.
Investors also digested some readings into the economy. U.S. retail sales rose 0.2% in June, matching economists’ estimates, while jobless claims for the week ending July 11 were 208,000, lower than the expected 218,000.
“Despite challenges, consumers are still spending and the labor market shows no signs of cracking,” Ellen Zentner, Chief Economic Strategist for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, said in written commentary. “This type of data won’t move the Fed’s needle either way, but it underscores the ongoing resilience of the US economy.”
Oil prices were modestly higher as traders assessed Middle East developments, including a report in The Wall Street Journal that President Donald Trump was leaning toward expanding U.S. military operations in Iran. West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. benchmark, were up 0.9% to $80.35 a barrel, while Brent crude futures, the global benchmark, rose 0.5% to $85.95 a barrel.
