The first trading day of the second half started with a hangover. US stock markets slipped on July 1 as investors took profits in technology and semiconductor names that had powered a strong first six months, though a massive move in Meta Platforms and dovish-leaning Fed commentary kept losses from getting ugly.
The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.66% to close at 26,040.03, dragged down by sharp declines in chipmakers. The S&P 500 edged lower by 0.22% to 7,483.23, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average barely moved, falling just 0.03% to 52,305.24 after touching an intraday high of 52,742.66.
Semiconductors crater, Meta soars
The damage was concentrated in a handful of semiconductor stocks that had been market darlings for most of the year. Micron and Sandisk both plunged more than 10% in a single session. Nvidia slipped 1%, while Broadcom fell 2%.
On the other side of the ledger sat Meta Platforms, which surged nearly 9% on the day. The catalyst was an announcement that the company plans to sell excess AI computing power through a new cloud offering, essentially turning its massive infrastructure investments into a direct revenue stream.
