US Markets
Stocks finish higher as tech leads and volatility fades
The major indexes mostly advance, with chips and mega-cap tech doing the heavy lifting while the Dow lags and volatility sinks.
U.S. stocks close with a split screen. The S&P 500 rises 0.3% to 7748.5, the Nasdaq Comp. gains 0.5% to 26588.5, and the Russell 2000 adds 0.6% to 3045.5. The Dow Jones slips 0.0% to 53770.3, leaving the big-cap benchmark just below flat.
The sector board tilts toward risk. Tech climbs 1.5%, Real Estate adds 0.9%, and Utilities, Staples, Health, Financials, Energy, and Industrials also finish green. Materials drops 1.2%, Discretionary falls 1.1%, and Comm Svcs slides 0.9%. The tape looks healthier than the sector spread suggests, but the gains are still concentrated in tech-heavy parts of the market.
Volatility backs off again. The VIX falls 4.8% to 14.55, and the 9-day VIX plunges 34.2% to 11.09. The S&P’s intraday path is choppy rather than dramatic, with the index spending most of the day in a narrow range before ending at 7748.5.
Market breadth within today’s biggest names leans toward the AI and chip story. CNBC Earnings flags CoreWeave’s revenue doubling on accelerating AI infrastructure demand, while CNBC Markets points to Cisco, Cerebras, and Super Micro among the day’s most watched corporate stories. Separately, MarketWatch says Super Micro gives a big sales forecast, and CNBC says Cisco drops despite an earnings and revenue beat.