Wall St treads water as chips rise, megacaps fall ahead of Fed, Big Tech earnings
SPY•US stocks were mixed, with the Dow up 0.3%, the S&P 500 up 0.22% and the Nasdaq up 0.02% as chipmakers rose and megacaps fell. Investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s decision and Microsoft and Alphabet earnings.
1. Stocks trade unevenly
US stocks were choppy as gains in chipmakers were offset by declines in megacap stocks. At 11:39 a.m. ET, the Dow rose 0.30% to 52,533.46, the S&P 500 gained 0.22% to 7,739.58 and the Nasdaq added 0.02% to 26,482.16.
2. Chip shares advance
Micron Technology gained 4.8% after South Korean rival SK Hynix reported a more than sevenfold jump in quarterly profit, boosted by AI infrastructure demand. The Philadelphia semiconductor index rose 0.9%, while Tesla fell 1.3% and Apple eased 0.5%. Vertiv jumped 13.2% after raising its full-year profit and revenue forecasts and topping third-quarter estimates; Boston Scientific fell 6.6% after trimming its annual profit forecast.
3. Fed and earnings ahead
Investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s policy announcement, due at 2 p.m. ET, and results from Microsoft and Alphabet after the market close. The companies were expected to report accelerating cloud growth, while investors were set to scrutinize their capital spending plans. Alphabet shares rose 1% after a media report that OpenAI reportedly plans to buy Google’s AI chips.
