Saturday, July 18, 2026

U.S. stock index drops on Middle East developments

The S&P 500 shed 0.28% to end the session ​at 7,482.71 points

The U.S. S&P 500 closed lower on Wednesday after President Donald Trump said an interim deal ​aimed at ending the war with Iran was “over,” while Broadcom led gains among recently battered chip stocks.

The S&P 500 shed 0.28% to end the session ​at 7,482.71 points.

The Nasdaq added 0.20% to 25,870.65 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 1.09% to 52,348.39 points.

The PHLX chip index added 2.23%.

The president’s comments marked the latest setback in the back-and-forth talks that have swung between threats of escalation and hopes for diplomacy, leaving investors wrong-footed by several false starts toward a peace deal.

Duration ​is the key here. How long does this go on?, said Rob Haworth, senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management in ​Seattle. If we see damage to Iranian infrastructure, the market may have to respond more seriously to that because there’s Iranian retaliation.

SpaceX dropped 0.8% to $148.38, the satellite and rocket company’s lowest close since its U.S. stock market debut on June 12.

Microsoft and Alphabet each declined ​more than 1%, while Meta Platforms shed 2%.

Helping keep the Nasdaq in positive territory, Broadcom surged 4.8% after Apple said it plans to spend more than $30 billion as ​part of a chip-supply agreement reached earlier this week with the chipmaker.

Any time you get an announcement from Apple about using your equipment, it’s pretty positive — especially when you have 2.5 billion Apple devices in people’s hands around the globe, said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth.

Nvidia added 3.65% after the Information reported that China plans ​to allow its top AI firms to buy a limited number of the company’s H200 chips.

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