New York, June 16, 2026, 20:01 (EDT)
- Dow ends at a record for the second day, but S&P 500 and Nasdaq slip as tech stocks lose ground.
- Index-tracking funds ticked up late in after-hours, with chip stocks showing some of the heaviest action.
- Oil’s slide is lifting sentiment for now, but eyes stay on the Fed decision and inflation ahead.
U.S. stock-index funds edged higher or held steady in late after-hours trade Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit another record, but tech pressure pulled down the S&P 500 and Nasdaq.
This shift got traders’ attention after stocks rallied the day before as oil fell and talk picked up about a possible U.S.-Iran deal. Now the question is whether lower crude is enough to outweigh pricey tech shares and the Fed’s call still coming up Wednesday.
The Dow added 328.64 points, or 0.64%, to close at 51,999.67. The S&P 500 fell 42.94 points, or 0.57%, to 7,511.35. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 307.60 points, or 1.15%, to 26,376.34. Financials paced S&P 500 sector gains. Tech stocks lagged, with the Philadelphia semiconductor index falling 5.7%.
SPY, QQQ and DIA inched higher after the close, with gains of 0.04%, 0.03% and 0.10% according to Investing.com around 7:50 p.m. ET. Nvidia ticked up 0.04% in late trading. Broadcom was up 0.21%, Micron climbed 1.46%. Apple eased 0.15% and Tesla dropped 0.38%.
Stocks slipped Tuesday after Monday’s jump into risk. “We’re just digesting some of those gains,” said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott. He said the mood before the Fed meeting was “a little tentative.” Reuters
SpaceX shares rose 4.8% to $201.80 and set a new record high. The company’s market cap finished above Amazon’s and, for a time during the session, edged past Microsoft’s. That move put the new rocket-and-AI name into the upper ranks of the U.S. market heavyweights.
Brent crude dropped 5.1% to finish at $78.96 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate was off 5.8% at $76.05, both at their lowest levels since early March. Stocks found some shelter as reports pointed to a possible deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and let Iran sell oil. “Crude oil is sliding fast,” said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho. Reuters
The rate outlook is messy. UBS Global Wealth Management pushed its call for Fed cuts out to 2027. The firm said it sees the Fed taking a more hawkish tone, or hinting it could keep rates higher for longer. Reuters said traders were giving about a 42% chance for a quarter-point hike by December, based on the CME FedWatch tool.
Economic numbers offered no relief. U.S. single-family housing starts slipped 1.9% in May and total housing starts plunged 15.4%, hitting a six-year low. Import prices increased 1.9% in the month. “Little indication” that home building will pick up any time soon, said Sal Guatieri, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets. Reuters
The downside risk is clear. An Iran deal snag could send oil higher, stirring up inflation worries again. Any hawkish Fed talk might hit expensive AI and chip names for another drop. Trading is already thin, and with NYSE and Nasdaq shutting Friday for Juneteenth, more volatility is possible.
Some strategists are sticking to a bullish call. Wells Fargo lifted its S&P 500 target for the end of 2026 to 7,950, up from 7,300. The bank pointed to better earnings, fewer macro risks after the Iran deal and a sentiment shift following the pullback.
