US Stocks Close: Three Major Indices Fall Across the Board, Nasdaq Drops 1.4%; Memory Stocks Stop Falling and Stabilize, Tech Stocks Sold Off; Market Focuses on Earnings to Be Released Next Week

TradingKey - The US-Iran conflict continued to escalate, with both major crude oil benchmarks rising over 4%. Meanwhile, market focus on tech stocks set to report earnings next week—Google, Tesla, Intel, and SAP—left trading lackluster. The three major US stock indexes all fell, while memory stocks stopped their decline and stabilized, and tech stocks faced a sell-off.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.77% to 52,146.42 points; the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 1.40% to 25,520.24 points; the S&P 500 Index fell 1.01% to 7,457.69 points.

Tech Stock Performance

SpaceX (SPCX) fell 5.43% to $123.99.

On Thursday, SpaceX had planned to open a 90-minute launch window in Texas at 5:45 p.m. Eastern Time, but an engine ignition failure forced the mission to be aborted. Founder Elon Musk later posted on the X platform, saying, "Some engines failed to start, triggering an automatic abort. Propellant is currently being unloaded, and we hope to try the launch again within a few days." He later added that two Raptor engines will be removed and replaced, with plans to relaunch early next week.

Among mega-cap tech stocks, Apple (AAPL) rose 0.14%; SpaceX (SPCX) fell 5.43%, TSMC (TSM) fell 2.81%, Meta Platforms (META) fell 2.79%, Tesla (TSLA) fell 2.61%, Nvidia (NVDA) fell 2.21%, Google (GOOGL) fell 2.17%, Microsoft (MSFT) fell 1.82%, Amazon (AMZN) fell 1.06%, and Broadcom (AVGO) fell 0.97%.

[Source: FutuBull]

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 1.63% to 11,673.89 points. Among its 30 constituents, 10 rose and 20 fell.

Memory stocks stopped falling and stabilized, with Seagate Technology (STX) rising 5.66%, Western Digital (WDC) rising 2.23%, and SK Hynix (SKHY) rising 1.13%; on the downside, SanDisk (SNDK) fell 3.99% and Micron Technology (MU) fell 0.50%.

Popular Chinese concept stocks fell across the board, with Kingsoft Cloud (KC) down 5.17%, Bilibili (BILI) down 5.05%, Baidu (BIDU) down 4.95%, GDS Holdings (GDS) down 4.85%, United Microelectronics (UMC) down 4.62%, Pony.ai (PONY) down 4.58%, and Hesai (HSAI) down 4.15%.

Corporate News

Meta Reportedly in Talks to Lease Computing Power to Anthropic in Deal Worth up to $10 Billion

According to media reports, Meta is in early-stage talks with leading AI firm Anthropic to lease computing power resources from its own data centers, in a two-year partnership agreement that could be worth up to $10 billion. If finalized, the deal would mark a landmark transaction for Meta as it transitions its computing power assets from purely internal use to external commercialization. Sources said Anthropic first proposed the partnership in June, and Meta is currently evaluating it. The specific terms of the deal are still being adjusted; under the proposed plan, Anthropic would pay Meta in monthly installments over two years, and both companies would have the right to terminate the agreement early.

Apple in Early Settlement Talks with U.S. Department of Justice over Antitrust Case

Apple and the U.S. Department of Justice are in early settlement discussions regarding a lawsuit filed in 2024 that accuses the iPhone maker of violating antitrust laws. The discussions are ongoing, but people familiar with the matter revealed that there is no guarantee an agreement will be reached, and no trial date has been set for the case yet. Apple has made multiple settlement proposals to the Department of Justice this year to resolve the case, and has already made adjustments in response to some of the allegations, including launching a mini-program initiative and opening up its messaging application.

Apple Sends Legal Letters to About 40 Former Employees Who Jumped to OpenAI

According to media reports, around 40 former Apple employees currently working at OpenAI have received legal letters demanding that they preserve relevant documents and communication records, and meet with Apple's lawyers to gather evidence. Apple reportedly took OpenAI to court last Friday, accusing it of widespread theft of the iPhone maker's intellectual property to develop its own consumer-grade AI hardware. Apple is demanding that OpenAI halt such activities, destroy all confidential information, and redesign its upcoming products to ensure they do not contain any Apple technology.

SpaceX Reportedly in Talks to Provide Billions of Dollars in Computing Power for U.S. Defense Department AI Projects

According to The Wall Street Journal, sources revealed that SpaceX is in talks with the U.S. Department of Defense to provide the agency with billions of dollars worth of computing power to run artificial intelligence models, further strengthening the partnership between Elon Musk's company and the U.S. Department of Defense. According to people familiar with the plans, SpaceX has signed similar agreements with Anthropic and Google in recent months and is currently planning to significantly expand its cloud computing business. People familiar with the matter said that in recent weeks, SpaceX employees discussed plans to offer computing power to AI customers at lower prices, thereby competing more directly with existing providers like CoreWeave.

Industry & Macro News

Fed's Hammack: Current Inflation Level is Too High

Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack stated that with consumer spending remaining robust and the unemployment rate staying low, stubbornly high inflation is her greater concern at present. Hammack noted that she has recently heard widespread concerns about price pressures from businesses and community members, covering various aspects including energy costs, supply chain disruptions, rising insurance costs, and the AI boom.

Falling Oil Prices Boost US July Consumer Confidence Beyond Expectations; One-Year Inflation Expectations Fall to 4.2%

US consumer sentiment surged to a five-month high in early July. Survey results released on Friday showed that the University of Michigan's preliminary consumer sentiment index for July rose to 54.4 from 49.5 in June, beating market expectations of 51. Throughout June and into early July, declining gasoline prices effectively eased household budget pressures. However, subsequent renewed tensions in the Middle East have begun to push up oil prices, making the inflation outlook increasingly complex.

US Homebuyer Affordability Declines for Fifth Straight Month

According to the latest Housing Affordability Index released by the National Association of Realtors, homebuyer affordability declined for the fifth consecutive month in June. The National Association of Realtors stated that compared to the same period last year, home purchasing affordability actually improved slightly last month, as income growth outpaced home price gains, while mortgage rates edged down slightly.