Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] Stocks have moved lower in the first half of today's session, with the S&P 500 (-1.5%), Nasdaq Composite (-1.8%), and DJIA (-1.4%) facing broad-based weakness. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite now both sit in modestly negative territory for the year, with the Nasdaq Composite also moving beneath its 50-day moving average (23,263.13).

The market has made a clear risk-off move today amid geopolitical tensions that investors fear could spur a trade war. President Trump announced that major European nations will face an additional 10% tariff until leaders accept his view that Greenland is essential to U.S. national security, which has prompted the EU to consider retaliatory tariffs, according to Bloomberg. 

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC in an interview that he does not see anything changing in regard to the EU's trade deal with the U.S., though the market is little changed from its opening losses. 

Nine S&P 500 sectors hold losses, with considerable mega-cap weakness seeing the information technology (-2.2%) and consumer discretionary (-2.2%) sectors lag.  NVIDIA (NVDA 179.52, -6.71, -3.60%) is the worst-performing of the "magnificent seven" names, though Tesla (TSLA 424.60, -12.90, -2.95%) and Amazon (AMZN 232.56, -6.56, -2.74%) are not far ahead, and all seven stocks trade lower. The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF is down 2.0%.  

Despite the broader tech weakness, the PHLX Semiconductor Index is down just 1.0%.  Intel (INTC 49.18, +2.22, +4.72%) is a standout after being upgraded to Hold from Reduce at HSBC, while memory storage names such as Sandisk (SNDK 444.54, +30.92, +7.48%) and Western Digital (WDC 225.08, +3.57, +1.61%) trade higher after a Micron (MU 364.79, +2.04, +0.56%) executive stated that the AI-driven memory shortage is unprecedented and expected to persist beyond 2026, according to Bloomberg. 

Meanwhile, the energy sector (+0.2%) trades modestly higher amid an increase in oil prices, while the consumer staples sector (+0.2%) now also trades slightly higher as a majority of its components advance, though a loss in Walmart (WMT 118.60, -1.10, -0.92%) largely prevents gains. 

On the earnings front, 3M (MMM 154.49, -13.31, -7.93%) trades sharply lower after the company issued a cautious outlook after beating earnings estimates. 3M is the worst performer in the industrials sector (-1.8%) today. 

Elsewhere, several regional banking names, such as Fifth Third (FITB 50.27, +1.11, +2.26%) and U.S. Bancorp (USB 54.76, +0.36, +0.65%), trade higher after topping earnings estimates, though broader weakness in the financials sector (-1.6%) keeps it firmly lower. 

Outside of the S&P 500, the Russell 2000 (-0.8%) and S&P Mid Cap 400 (-1.0%) manage to outperform the major averages, though they too face one of their worst sessions of 2026. 

Precious metals are charting record highs amid a 25% surge to 19.82 in the CBOE Volatility Index, underscoring heightened risk aversion and a scramble for portfolio protection as geopolitical uncertainty rattles confidence.