Closing Bell: Markets Mixed as Tech Stocks Diverge, SpaceX Slumps

It was a mixed day for U.S. equity markets as semiconductor and Magnificent 7 declines dragged down the Nasdaq and cast a shadow on another high for the Dow. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ($DJI) rose 0.49% to 54,349.12, another record high close, supported by gains in Caterpillar (CAT), Amgen (AMGN), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), and UnitedHealth Group (UNH). The S&P 500 (SPX) fell 0.17% to 7,723.55, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 (NDX) was down 0.83% to 29,487.79. The Russell 2000 (RUT) slipped 0.59% to 3,019.19.  

Materials and healthcare topped S&P 500 sector gainers, while communication services, energy, and utilities led decliners. The PHLX Semiconductor Sector Index (SOX) declined 1.4% to 12,008.88. A 7% drop in Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) offset a 3.4% rise in Nvidia (NVDA). SpaceX, which tumbled 11%, was the session's standout story. 

Three things to watch from Wednesday's market: 

The Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SPCX) AI Price Tag: SpaceX shares tumbled nearly 14% Wednesday despite delivering a narrower-than-expected loss and above-consensus revenue growth in Q2. The challenge: CapEx is soaring to $18.37 billion from $2.83 billion a year ago, which overshadowed the beat and rendered the worst performance on the Nasdaq. See Why CFRA Holds a Sell Rating on SPCX | The Watch List

Nvidia Locks Up SpaceX AI Deal: Nvidia jumped 3.4% after SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced on the company's inaugural earnings call that all AI services at SpaceX will be built exclusively on Nvidia systems. The win underscores Nvidia's commanding position in AI infrastructure. In contrast, rival AMD declined 7% after analysts raised questions about its gross margin trajectory during a post-earnings conference call. See Nasdaq-100 Competition Heats Up as New ETFs Enter the Market

Hormuz Hopes and a Jobs Miss: Iran and Oman announced an agreement on a proposed shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz — a chokepoint for roughly a fifth of global oil and gas flows. The U.S. benchmark price for crude (/CL) was down roughly 1% to about $75 per barrel. Risk sentiment was mixed, with the CBOE Market Volatility Index (VIX) down roughly 6% to 15.50, and gold futures (/GC) up 3.7% to $4,306.2. See What a U.S. and Iran Peace Deal Means for Energy

Separately, ADP reported July private payrolls rose just 44,000. That was well below the consensus estimate of 65,000 and raised fresh questions about labor market momentum ahead of the Friday nonfarm payrolls report. 

Angrej Singh and Tom White contributed to this report 

Economic Events (ET), Thursday, August 6 

• 08:30 AM: Initial Jobless Claims (Weekly) 
• 10:00 AM: Wholesale Inventories and Sales (MoM) (Jun) 

Earnings Calendar, Thursday 

• Premarket: GOLF, WMS, APA, APPN, ATI, BDX, CNQ, CELH, CHGG, LNG, COP, CEG, QBTS, DDOG, DEO, UUUU, EPAM, FISV, FOXA, HP, HTZ, KVUE, KDP, DNUT, TAP, DNOW, PZZA, PH, PTON, PENN, PLNT, RL, QSR, RXO, FUN, TRIP, USFD, WRBY, WBD, ZTS 

Postmarket: AFL, ABNB, AKAM, AIG, TEAM, CARG, CLSK, NET, ED, CRSR, DKNG, DBX, FIVN, CART, JHX, FROG, LION, LYFT, MTW, MARA, MNST, MP, NOG, PK, POST, PGNY, RGTI, RKT, ROKU, SEZL, SG, TXRH, TTD, TWLO, WMG, WPM, YELP 

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