NEW YORK, July 27, 2026, 16:05 EDT — Wall Street advanced Monday, with the Dow posting a rise that helped balance declines in the AI chip segment as investors rotated across sectors.
- Preliminary closing levels: Dow up 0.51%, S&P 500 gains 0.02%, Nasdaq slips 0.18%.
- The equal-weight S&P advanced 0.72%, while the Russell 2000 increased 0.65%.
- The Fed announces its decision on Wednesday, with GDP and PCE inflation figures due Thursday.
U.S. equities closed with mixed results on Monday, as main indexes masked widespread gains. The closing bell had just rung. According to initial figures, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) rose 0.51% to 52,209.69. The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) edged up 0.02%. The Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) slipped 0.18%.
Gains were more pronounced among stocks below the megacap group. The equal-weight S&P advanced by 0.72%. The Russell 2000 (INDEXRUSSELL:RUT) increased 0.65%.
After two sessions, the divergence became clearer. The equal-weight index advanced 1.50% from Thursday’s close, while the cap-weighted S&P posted just a 0.07% increase. That left a differential of 1.43 percentage points.
The gap is significant for positioning. Equal-weight includes identical firms, each around 0.2% at each rebalance. This removes much of the influence from megacaps. As a result, Monday’s moves appeared as rotation rather than widespread risk-off behavior.
“Today represents a continuation of the rotational market that we’ve seen,” said Bill Merz. He heads capital-markets research at U.S. Bank Asset Management Group. During the session, advancing stocks led decliners by a ratio of 1.6-to-one. Reuters
The final spread was notably large, according to early index readings.
| Benchmark | Preliminary level | Day change | Versus S&P 500 |
|---|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 | 7,413.26 | up 0.02% | — |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 52,209.69 | rises 0.51% | up 0.49 point |
| Nasdaq Composite | 24,932.08 | drops 0.18% | down 0.20 point |
| Russell 2000 | 2,949.13 | gains 0.65% | up 0.63 point |
| S&P 500 Equal Weight | 8,714.17 | adds 0.72% | up 0.70 point |
Chip stocks weighed on the market. Nvidia NASDAQ:NVDA slipped 4.9% in late deals, while Advanced Micro Devices NASDAQ:AMD dropped 7.3%.
The PHLX Semiconductor Index ended the session down 2.23% at 11,554.88. The index has dropped 21.2% from its peak on June 22, marking it as the sector under the most pressure in the market.
China added to the mounting pressure. CXMT Corp SHA:688825 opened strongly in its Shanghai debut. Meanwhile, another report indicated that China started producing local deep-ultraviolet chip tools. Both moves pointed to stiffer competition for U.S. suppliers.
Other groups went in the opposite direction. Consumer staples increased by 1.7%, and health care climbed nearly 1%. Brent crude dropped about 8% over the session. The decline in oil prices reduced one inflation concern but did not halt declines among chip stocks.
The move came after major indexes posted declines over the past week. The S&P slipped 0.6%, the Dow lost 0.4%, the Nasdaq dropped 2.1%, and the Russell was down 1.1%. The Nasdaq’s decline was more than three times greater than the S&P’s.
The Federal Reserve will begin a two-day meeting on Tuesday, with an announcement scheduled for Wednesday at 2 p.m. EDT. Rate futures indicate a 62% probability rates will remain unchanged, and a 38% likelihood of a 0.25 point hike.
Preliminary GDP results for the second quarter and June’s personal income statistics will be published Thursday at 8:30 a.m. The June PCE inflation numbers will also be released alongside the income report.
Upcoming corporate earnings will reveal if the rotation maintains momentum. Microsoft NASDAQ:MSFT, Amazon.com NASDAQ:AMZN, Meta Platforms NASDAQ:META and Apple NASDAQ:AAPL are set to release results this week. Data from London Stock Exchange Group LON:LSEG show that S&P earnings growth is projected at 39%. A significant portion of this rise comes from AI-related stocks.
Equal-weight has become the clearer indicator of market breadth. Additional advances may help absorb another megacap pullback. A decline would once again highlight the concentration within the index.
Risks: An unexpected Fed rate increase, disappointing megacap forecasts or fresh conflict in the Middle East may halt the rotation. The S&P is valued at close to 20 times projected earnings, offering little buffer against further rate or energy shocks.
