NEW YORK — U.S. stocks fell across the board as selling concentrated in artificial intelligence-related semiconductor stocks.
On the 17th, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 52,146.42, down 406.55 points, or 0.77%, from the previous session. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 76.08 points, or 1.01%, to 7,457.69, while the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 361.70 points, or 1.40%, to 25,520.24.
Among the top technology stocks by market capitalization, Nvidia fell 2.21%, while Microsoft dropped 1.82%, Amazon 1.06%, Google parent Alphabet 2.17%, Broadcom 0.97%, SpaceX 5.43% and Tesla 2.61%. Apple bucked the trend, rising 0.14% even in the down market.
New York stocks opened weak from early in the session on doubts about whether the astronomical AI investments by hyperscalers, the largest cloud providers, are sustainable. "Kimi K3," a low-cost open-source (free) AI model unveiled by Chinese startup Moonshot, was also a factor that dampened investment sentiment toward U.S. big tech firms. Wall Street believes Chinese AI models are rapidly narrowing the technology gap with the top-tier models from OpenAI and Anthropic.
In particular, selling concentrated on semiconductor-related stocks that underpin the AI ecosystem from below. Micron fell 0.50% and SanDisk dropped 3.99% amid broad declines in related stocks, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index also fell 1.63%. Nvidia, the leading semiconductor stock, saw its share price fall more than 3% during the session, briefly ceding the top market capitalization spot to Apple. It marked the first time in one year and three months, since April last year, that Nvidia had given up the market cap lead to Apple. Meanwhile, SK hynix's American depositary receipts (ADR) rebounded 1.13%.
The escalating armed conflict between the United States and Iran also weighed on the market. Kuwait's Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy said that Iran had struck power plants and seawater desalination facilities in the country, causing equipment destruction, fires and damage to power generation equipment. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also launched a surprise attack on the Al Udeid U.S. Air Force base in Qatar. On the 16th, the number of vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz fell to eight, the lowest level in three weeks. The previous day, Reuters reported that Iran had instructed Yemen's Houthi rebels to prepare to blockade the Red Sea crude oil shipping route in case its own power infrastructure came under attack.
Netflix plunged 7.26% after its second-quarter earnings per share (EPS) met expectations but it adjusted its annual revenue forecast to $51.0 billion–$51.4 billion from the previous $50.7 billion–$51.7 billion. Alphabet's stock was hit by news that Google had delayed the release of its Gemini AI model. SpaceX shares fell completely below their offering price of $135 to $122.12 after the company halted the launch of its Starship super-heavy rocket.
International oil prices rose amid Middle East instability. On the day, Brent crude futures for September delivery on London's ICE Futures Exchange rose 4.5% from the previous session to $88.10 per barrel. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for August delivery also rose 4.5% to $82.49 per barrel.
