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YOU'LL NEVER GUESS: STOCKS END SPLIT AS BIG TECH WEIGHS ON NASDAQ

Have you heard the one about tech .SPLRCT pulling the Nasdaq lower? It's topping the charts and getting lots of airplay.

Stocks ended mixed on Thursday, with the S&P 500 turning lower in the last hour and the Dow scratching out a meager gain. Meanwhile, each one of the not-so-magnificent seven group of AI-adjacent megacaps helped the Nasdaq enjoy another day in the red.

With today's trading, in fact, the tech-heavy index is now 6.4% below its all-time closing high reached on June 2.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 71.72 points, or 0.14%, to 51,920.62, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 0.73 point to 7,357.49 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC lost 118.03 points, or 0.46%, to 25,358.60.

Even so, the AI play is alive and well, as evidenced by chips. The PHLX Semiconductor index .SOX ended the day 3.6% higher after chipmaker Micron MU.O topped quarterly profit and revenue expectations. Micron advanced 15.7%, while similar stocks, such as SanDisk SNDK.O, Applied Materials AMAT.O, and Qualcomm QCOM.O also benefited, rising between 3.7% and 22.0%.

Apple AAPL.O announced price hikes for its iPads and MacBooks, due to a chip supply squeeze related to AI datacenter demand. The gadgetmaker lost 6.1% on the day.

Industrials .SPLRCI had a good day as investors looked beyond the AI hyperscalers, and scrutinized firms that stood to benefit from all that hyperscaling. The sector gained 2.2%.

Tensions in the Middle East remain on low boil as the UN paused evacuation plans for ships stranded in the Strait of Hormuz after a cargo ship reported a suspected attack, the latest in a series of events to threaten a fragile peace deal between the United States and Iran.

Front-month WTI and Brent crude settled up 2.3% and 2.1%, respectively.

On the economic front, the Commerce Department released a plethora of data. Its final take on Q1 GDP was unexpectedly hiked to 2.1% from 1.6%, but that was primarily due to a softer net trade detraction and a spurt in Federal government spending. Its PCE report showed annual inflation growing hotter, as analysts predicted. New orders for durable goods tanked due to a tough monthly comparison in aircraft sales, but new orders for core capital goods waltzed past expectations to post a 1.6% gain, boding well for U.S. corporate capex plans.

On Friday, the University of Michigan offers its final stab at June consumer sentiment, and the Commerce Department is slated to provide its advance readings of goods trade balance and wholesale inventories for May.

Here's your closing snapshot:

(Stephen Culp)

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EARLIER ON LIVE MARKETS:

RETAIL INVESTORS AREN'T SO SURE THE AI RACE IS THE US'S TO WIN CLICK HERE

INDUSTRIALS OUTPERFORM WITH AI IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT CLICK HERE

SOME SMIDS TO WATCH IN THE RUSSELL RECON CLICK HERE

DATA D-DAY: GDP, PCE, DURABLE GOODS, JOBLESS CLAIMS CLICK HERE

NASDAQ EXTENDS RECENT SLIDE, BUT MICRON SHARES POP CLICK HERE

SOLID DATA BOOSTS STOCK FUTURES CLICK HERE

JAPAN'S YEN: WHY TOKYO MAY BE WAITING BEFORE FIRING AGAIN CLICK HERE

LUXURY BUYERS SEE NO PICKUP IN DEMAND YET CLICK HERE

CRISPY CHIPS FOR BREAKFAST, EYES ON PCE CLICK HERE

BEFORE THE BELL: TECH LEADS EUROPE HIGHER, MORE M&A CLICK HERE

MICRON PUTS CHIPS BACK ON THE TABLE CLICK HERE