Wall Street falls as chip stocks decline
United Airlines Holdings UAL | 0.00 | |
Micron Technology, Inc. MU | 0.00 | |
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated UNH | 0.00 | |
Abbott Laboratories ABT | 0.00 | |
Seagate Technology Holdings PLC STX | 0.00 |
NEW YORK, July 16 (Reuters) - Chip stocks dragged the Nasdaq Composite and Standard & Poor's 500 indexes lower on Thursday, continuing to lead broader market moves despite generally positive U.S. economic data and a strong start to the second-quarter earnings season.
Of the 11 sectors on the Standard & Poor's 500 index, the technology sector was among the biggest losers in percentage terms, as semiconductor stocks weighed heavily on the market as a whole.
“It all comes down to the weighting of chip stocks on the S&P 500,” said Paul Nolte, senior wealth advisor and market strategist at Murphy & Silvest in Elmhurst, Illinois. “Three or four years ago, it was 8 percent; now it’s over 20 percent. If you look at the rest of the market, it’s doing pretty well.”
Preliminary data indicates that the S&P 500 closed down 37.78 points, or 0.50 percent, at 7,534.62, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 383.76 points, or 1.47 percent, to 25,885.47. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 109.13 points, or 0.21 percent, to 52,549.51.