New York, June 25, 2026, 16:08 (EDT)
- Nasdaq dropped for a fourth session in a row, but the Dow eked out a small gain.
- Memory stocks topped S&P 500 gainers. Apple and Dell were some of the bigger losers.
- Micron’s supply pledges and Apple’s higher prices pointed to buyers handing more AI costs to chipmakers.
- PCE inflation was up 4.1% in May, while first-quarter GDP got revised down to 2.1%.
Nasdaq slips as AI trade splits chip makers and buyers; SanDisk (NASDAQ:SNDK) jumps 22%
The Nasdaq Composite ended Thursday down 0.46%, giving up 118.03 points to finish at 25,358.60. The Dow Jones Industrial Average managed a 71.72-point gain, or 0.14%, to close at 51,920.62, while the S&P 500 was flat, down just 0.73 point at 7,357.49. Memory-chip stocks ran higher, but the broader tech index still fell as some companies raised prices for hard-to-find AI parts and others paid up. SanDisk Corp (NASDAQ:SNDK) soared 22.0%, Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU) climbed 15.7%, and Applied Materials Inc (NASDAQ:AMAT) rose 13.4%. Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) lost 6.1%, and Dell Technologies Inc (NYSE:DELL) dropped 5.8%.
AI supply chain spreads, not index closes, told the story today. Micron reported $22 billion in customer commitments for memory-chip supply. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said those “tight conditions” could last past 2027. Ben Barringer at Quilter Cheviot said “continued tightness support pricing” for players up and down the AI chain. Reuters
Apple dropped 6.12% to close at $275.15. The company lifted prices for iPads and MacBooks. The MacBook Neo’s base price is now $699, up from $599. Apple said, “never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly.” CEO Tim Cook last April warned about “significantly higher memory costs.” MarketWatch Reuters
AI stocks aren’t trading as a pack anymore, which investors care about. Memory makers are scoring on price, order books and customer commitments. Device companies and cloud customers are dealing with tighter margins. “One company’s blowout earnings and revenues mean someone else is paying the price,” said Carol Schleif, chief investment officer at BMO Family Office. Six out of 11 S&P 500 sectors gained, with industrials adding 1.9%. Advancers led decliners by 1.48-to-1 on the NYSE and 1.02-to-1 on the Nasdaq. Reuters
Qualcomm Inc (NASDAQ:QCOM) is pushing the supplier-side story. The company is now targeting $15 billion in data-center sales by 2029 and $40 billion in chip sales from outside smartphones, well above its old $22 billion goal. “We will be truly diversified,” Chief Financial Officer Akash Palkhiwala said. Tony Pialis, who runs the data-center unit, said hyperscale customers have been “pulling us in.” Qualcomm said Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) plan to use its new AI chips. Reuters
Tech giants kept falling this month. The Magnificent Seven group is down $2.99 trillion in market value in June, pulling their total to $20.8 trillion, Dow Jones Market Data told Barron’s.
Rate risk is still in play. The Bureau of Economic Analysis reported the PCE price index climbed 4.1% in May from a year ago, after a 3.8% rise in April. Real GDP grew at a 2.1% annual pace in Q1, the agency’s third estimate. Bureau of Economic Analysis
The debate over how much higher rates can support high-growth stocks isn’t going away. Marc Dizard, chief investment officer at Huntington Bank, pointed out the gap between tech and the S&P 500 minus tech was about “2.8 standard deviations away from the average.” With the Fed sounding more hawkish, he expects “long-duration assets are going to sell off.” Reuters
Oil and yields split. Brent crude picked up 2% to $75.36 a barrel, still off the peak after the Strait of Hormuz jolt. The 10-year Treasury yield fell, last at 4.39%, down from 4.41% late Wednesday. “As long as gasoline prices trend lower, inflation expectations will likely follow suit,” said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management. AP News
The Nasdaq saw 201 stocks hit new highs and 204 touch new lows. The S&P 500 had 52 names at 52-week highs, with 15 at new lows.
