NEW YORK, August 6, 2026, 12:03 EDT — The U.S. stock market opened for trading.
- Around midday, the S&P 500 slipped 0.1%. The Nasdaq edged up 0.1%, and the Dow declined 0.6%.
- An initial estimate indicates that four AI-related stocks collectively shed nearly $68 billion in market value.
- Shares in semiconductor companies rose 1.55%, while the primary software sector fund dropped 1.88%.
U.S. stocks ended mixed on Thursday, with chip manufacturers rebounding as software and data storage stocks posted significant earnings declines.
The trend sends a clear message to investors. AI demand is still robust, yet strong demand by itself is no longer sufficient.
Over 75% of S&P 500 companies have released their results, with adjusted earnings showing 31.1% growth, marking the highest rate since 2021. Technology sector earnings are set to increase by 72%. The index is valued at 20.4 times projected earnings.
Market proxies that can be traded highlighted the extent of Thursday’s split.
| Market gauge | Price | Day move |
|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 ETF, SPY | $769.12 | -0.09% |
| Nasdaq-100 ETF, QQQ | $716.87 | -0.06% |
| Dow ETF, DIA | $539.49 | -0.61% |
| Semiconductor ETF, SOXX | $538.90 | +1.55% |
| Software-sector ETF, IGV | $99.41 | -1.88% |
| Energy-sector ETF, XLE | $58.06 | +1.30% |
Prices captured from 11:46 to 11:49 EDT.
Initial estimates indicate that the damage is close to $68 billion. The four stocks declined by an average of 12.1%.
| Company | Midday price | Day move | Estimated equity value lost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western Digital NASDAQ:WDC | $470.41 | -9.39% | $16.8 billion |
| Sandisk NASDAQ:SNDK | $1,305.00 | -3.37% | $7.1 billion |
| AppLovin NASDAQ:APP | $335.65 | -19.66% | $27.7 billion |
| Datadog NASDAQ:DDOG | $238.30 | -15.85% | $16.4 billion |
| Total | — | -12.07% mean | $68.0 billion |
These early figures rely on live market capitalizations and percentage shifts within the day. Rounding may cause discrepancies in totals.
Western Digital and Sandisk projected revenue to surpass analysts’ estimates. Both companies’ shares have surged roughly 200% and 400% respectively so far this year. “There are just incredible expectations,” said Hank Smith of Haverford Trust. Reuters
Software stocks encountered distinct challenges. AppLovin reported quarterly revenue that fell short of forecasts. Datadog projected a slower pace of revenue growth for the third quarter. HubSpot NYSE:HUBS declined 20.9% after multiple brokerages downgraded the stock.
Analyst recommendations on the same day shifted in the same direction.
| Company | Brokerage | Recommendation change | Price target |
|---|---|---|---|
| AppLovin | Wells Fargo | Overweight cut to Equal Weight | $357 |
| AppLovin | Piper Sandler | Overweight lowered to Neutral | $385 |
| Western Digital | Summit Insights | Buy downgraded to Hold | Not stated |
| HubSpot | Stifel | Buy reduced to Hold | $200 |
| HubSpot | Piper Sandler | Overweight changed to Neutral | $220 |
Brokerage moves were logged as of 8:48 EDT on Thursday.
The latest targets leave little additional upside over midday prices. AppLovin’s projections suggest gains of approximately 6% to 15%. HubSpot’s point to an upside in the range of about 1% to 11%.
The wider AI sector showed more resilience. Microsoft NASDAQ:MSFT rose 1.77%, and Amazon NASDAQ:AMZN was up 0.36%. Nvidia NASDAQ:NVDA fell 0.65%, but the semiconductor fund increased by 1.55%.
Market activity saw little impact from economic updates. Initial jobless claims reached 199,000, under the expected 202,000. Early second-quarter productivity was up 1.4%, and unit labor costs climbed 1.3%.
FWDBONDS’ Christopher Rupkey stated that “a true productivity miracle” would require AI to reduce production expenses. The figures provided the Federal Reserve added flexibility in monitoring inflation. Reuters
Oil continued to exert cross-asset pressure, with Brent crude climbing 2.2% to trade above $81 as traders monitored developments in Iran talks. Yields on two- and five-year Treasuries rose by over five basis points.
Industrial stocks moved in different directions. Honeywell Aerospace NASDAQ:HONA dropped 20.4% after lowering its yearly sales guidance. Parker-Hannifin NYSE:PH rose 6.6% after issuing a higher profit forecast. SpaceX NASDAQ:SPCX gained 2.5% as part of its post-IPO lockup ended.
Selling pressure did not impact the entire market. Gainers marginally surpassed losers on the two main exchanges. The S&P 500 posted 29 new 12-month highs compared to three new lows.
Market focus stays on Friday’s July jobs data, alongside oil prices and U.S. Treasury yields. Robust payroll numbers may boost rate hike bets. Further increases in oil could put more pressure on premium stock valuations.
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