Stock Market Update
18-Aug-26 10:05 ET
Semiconductors leading the market lower
Dow -43.49
at 53416.29,
Nasdaq -295.04
at 26370.90,
S&P -35.55
at 7709.51
[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (-0.5%), Nasdaq Composite (-1.1%), and DJIA (-0.1%) are lower this morning as pronounced weakness in semiconductor names weighs against a broader market that is holding up relatively well despite another rise in oil prices.
The information technology sector (-1.9%) is firmly lower, with the PHLX Semiconductor Index (-5.0%) giving back yesterday's gain and much more. Coherent (COHR 316.00, -35.22, -10.03%) is the worst-performing S&P 500 component, while memory names are also sharply lower after a solid showing yesterday.
Mega-cap tech outside of the information technology sector also remains under pressure, with Meta Platforms (META 547.47, -21.50, -3.78%) facing another steep loss ahead of a child social media trial that is slated to begin opening arguments today. The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF is down 1.1%.
Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Equal Weighted Index (+0.1%) clings to a slight gain as much of the broader market recovers from a weak showing yesterday. The defensive health care (+1.7%), consumer staples (+1.0%), and utilities (+0.8%) sectors are standouts amid the weakness in technology.
The energy sector (+1.1%) also moves higher amid a bump in oil prices, with crude oil currently up $0.60 (+0.7%) to $84.34 per barrel.
Industrial production increased 0.2% month-over-month in July (Briefing.com consensus: 0.3%) following an upwardly revised 0.3% increase (from 0.1%) in June. The capacity utilization rate was 76.3% (Briefing.com consensus: 76.3%) versus an upwardly revised 76.2% (from 76.1%) in June. Total industrial production was up 1.1% year-over-year. The capacity utilization rate was 3.1 percentage points below its long-run average.
The key takeaway from the report is that gains were registered by all three major industry groups, led by a 0.5% increase in utilities that stemmed from hot weather increasing air-conditioning use.
Just released, pending home sales decreased 2.3% in July (Briefing.com consensus 1.3%) from an upwardly revised 4.8% decrease (from-5.4%).
