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MARKET'S SPLIT PERSONALITY: FINANCIALS HIT RECORDS, SEMIS FLIRT WITH BEAR MARKET

Chip stocks pulled the market down on Thursday as they continued to lead broader moves despite generally upbeat U.S. economic data and what has so far been a strong earnings season.

The main U.S. indexes ended in the red with the tech-heavy Nasdaq .IXIC, down 1.47%, taking the biggest hit. That said, a majority of S&P 500 .SPX sectors ended up on the day, though there was a clear tilt toward defense and value.

Staples .SPLRCS, healthcare .SPXHC and real estate .SPLRCR all posted gains of more than 2%. Tech .SPLRCT fell more than 1.5%, while communication services .SPLRCL lost nearly 3%. Consumer discretionary .SPLRCD was also on the losing side.

Under the surface, transports .DJT and regional banks .KRX scored strong gains, while gold/silver miners .XAU were weak.

The PHLX Semiconductor Index .SOX slid more than 4% and is flirting with a bear market. The index ended down nearly 19% from its June 22 record closing high.

Meanwhile, the KRX and the S&P 500 financial sector .SPSY notched record closing highs. Other record closing highs of note included the S&P 500 Equal Weight Index .SPXEW, Apple AAPL.O, S&P 500 Value .IVX and Quality stocks QUAL.K.

Here is a snapshot of where markets stood shortly after 4 p.m. ET.

(Terence Gabriel)

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