S&P 500 Falls 0.5 Percent as AI Chip Stocks Decline

U.S. stock indexes closed mixed on Friday after computer chipmakers and other companies tied to artificial intelligence declined. The S&P 500 fell 0.5 percent, one day after it came within 0.5 percent of its record high set last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 153 points, or 0.3 percent, while the Nasdaq composite dropped 1.2 percent.

Australian sharemarket futures pointed to a 0.3 percent decline at the open. The ASX closed flat on Thursday. The Australian dollar traded at US69.94 cents.

Several large U.S. companies reported quarterly profits that exceeded analyst expectations. Abbott rose 10.9 percent after raising its full-year earnings forecast. UnitedHealth Group gained 2.5 percent. Nvidia fell 2.6 percent. Micron Technology declined 5.2 percent, reducing its year-to-date gain to 200 percent.

Sandisk dropped 10.6 percent but remains up 500 percent for the year. Western Digital fell 9.8 percent while holding a 168 percent year-to-date gain. Its U.S.-listed shares fell 3.1 percent while its Taiwan shares rose 1.2 percent.

The Kospi index in South Korea fell 6.4 percent. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix contributed to the decline. The Bank of Korea raised interest rates for the first time since 2023. Brent crude briefly exceeded $86 per barrel before closing at $84.08, down 1 percent.

The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.56 percent. Retail sales came in below expectations while consumer spending excluding gasoline stations remained steady. Unemployment claims declined and mid-Atlantic manufacturing exceeded forecasts. European and Asian indexes declined, including drops of 1.8 percent in Shanghai and 2.8 percent in Tokyo.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.3 percent after Alibaba gained on approval of its AI model for use in China.