The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell Friday as investors sold chip stocks on worries about massive spending on artificial intelligence ahead of the next batch of megacap earnings reports, while falling oil prices provided Wall Street with some support even as Middle East hostilities continued.
The Nasdaq Composite lost 161.87 points, or 0.64%, to 24,975.82. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 235.60 points, or 0.46%, to 51,947.25, and the S&P 500 edged up 3.68 points, or 0.05%, to 7,411.98.
The S&P 500’s biggest weight came from the S&P 500 technology index, which underperformed the broader market to finish down 0.88% as chip stocks fell.
While investors looked ahead to next week's results from megacaps Microsoft, Amazon.com, Meta and Apple Inc., their enthusiasm waned since Google parent company Alphabet's announcement late Wednesday of a massive hike to its capital spending plans even as it burns cash.
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Intel's shares closed down 7.9% Friday in sympathy with the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index, which dropped 4.5%.
For the week, the Dow fell 0.4%, its third straight weekly loss. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq registered their second straight week in the red with the S&P falling 0.6% while the Nasdaq lost 2%.
Among the S&P 500's 11 major industry indexes, real estate was the strongest, with a 2.4% advance. The sector's leading gainer was Digital Realty Trust, which rallied 11% after it raised its full-year forecast for funds from operations.
The second-biggest sector gainer was materials, which rose 1.44% as investors turned their attention to paper and packaging companies. International Paper led the pack with an 11.2% advance, making it the S&P 500's biggest percentage gainer for the day. It was followed closely by the U.S.-traded shares of paper company Smurfit Westrock, which added 11.1%.
Also providing some relief was a 3% drop in crude oil futures after sources said China pushed to resume stalled U.S.-Iran peace talks. Still, U.S. missiles struck targets across Iran.
The Trump administration also imposed new 10% and 12.5% tariffs on goods from 60 trading partners, citing lax enforcement of forced-labor bans, as a temporary 10% global tariff expired.
Friday's data showed activity in the U.S. services sector accelerated in July, while the pace of growth in the manufacturing sector eased to the slowest since March.
Among other individual gainers, SLB shares climbed 11% after the oilfield services firm beat expectations for second-quarter profit.
