Stock Market Today, July 17, 2026: S&P 500, Dow, and Nasdaq Close Lower, Post Weekly Losses

The S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite all closed lower on Friday, July 17, 2026, and each posted a weekly loss. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.4% on the day, the S&P 500 dropped 1% and the Dow declined 0.8%. For the week, the Nasdaq lost 2.9%, the S&P 500 fell 1.6% and the Dow slipped 0.9%.

Technology shares led the decline for a second straight session as concerns about AI spending weighed on chipmakers. A slower revenue growth forecast from Netflix pulled communication services stocks lower, and oil prices jumped after fighting between the U.S. and Iran escalated.

Several stocks moved against the decline. Insurer Travelers led both the S&P 500 and the Dow after a large earnings beat. A group of memory chip stocks recovered from early losses to trade higher in the afternoon.

Three Sources of Friday’s Losses

Friday’s decline came from three separate developments, each affecting a different part of the market.

The first was a continuation of Thursday’s sell-off in chip stocks. On Thursday, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, raised its full-year forecast for capital expenditures. The higher capex forecast renewed a debate that has weighed on the AI trade for weeks. One question is whether spending on AI infrastructure will earn an adequate return. The other is how long the largest chip buyers can sustain their current spending pace. U.S.-listed shares of TSMC fell more than 2% on Thursday and closed down nearly 3% on Friday.

The second was company news at large communication services and technology companies. Netflix guided for slower revenue growth, Meta Platforms fell sharply and Alphabet extended its Thursday decline. All three rank among the largest companies in the S&P 500.

The third was geopolitics. U.S. strikes on Iranian military targets and a reported Iranian strike on a Kuwaiti utility plant pushed crude oil sharply higher while tech shares were already under pressure.

The Dow posted the smallest decline of the three benchmarks. Travelers, one of its 30 members, was the index’s best performer.

A Losing Week for All Three Indexes

This was the first week since the week of June 5 in which all three major indexes closed lower.

The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 each ended two-week winning streaks. The Dow, which also fell the previous week, closed lower for a second straight week.

Friday’s session followed a down day on Thursday. All three indexes ended lower that day, snapping two-day winning streaks, as chipmakers sold off on renewed AI spending concerns. The July 16 market recap covers that session in detail. The two straight declines at the end of the week accounted for most of the weekly losses in the tech-heavy indexes.

Futures Pointed to Further Chip Weakness

Futures contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.6% early Friday as chip stocks extended their slide.

Netflix had the largest premarket move among major stocks. Its shares were down nearly 11% before the open, a day after the company released quarterly results and guidance. The decline narrowed to about 8.5% by late morning, and the stock closed down 7.5%.

AI Spending Fears Keep Pressure on Chips

Chipmakers led Thursday’s losses and remained under pressure Friday. Nvidia (NVDA) fell about 4.5% in early trading, which changed the ranking of the world’s largest companies.

Apple Passes Nvidia as Most Valuable Public Company

With Nvidia lower and Apple (AAPL) edging higher, Apple overtook Nvidia during the session as the world’s most valuable public company by market capitalization. TradingView figures put Apple’s market value at about $4.91 trillion, compared with roughly $4.81 trillion for Nvidia. Nvidia had held the top spot since Nov. 6, 2024.

Apple was the only member of the Magnificent Seven to close higher on Friday.

Memory Stocks Reverse Early Losses

Memory chip stocks staged the session’s clearest reversal. Sandisk (SNDK), SK Hynix (SKHY), Seagate Technology Holdings (STX) and Western Digital (WDC) extended Thursday’s steep losses in early trading. They then rebounded, and by the afternoon they were up roughly 6%, 5%, 3% and 2%, respectively.

The Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM) dropped almost 9% on Thursday. It was up about 3% with roughly an hour left in Friday’s session.

The memory rebound came while other AI-linked stocks, including Nvidia and TSMC, kept falling.

Oil Jumps as U.S.-Iran Fighting Escalates

Crude oil had the largest move outside the stock market on Friday. Overnight, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) wrote on X that its forces had “hit dozens of Iranian military targets.” The post added that “more than 50,000 U.S. service members are operating across the Middle East and remain vigilant, lethal, and ready.”

Prices rose further during the day after Kuwait said Iran had struck one of its power generation and water distillation plants.

At 4 p.m. ET, West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. benchmark, were up about 4% at $82.15 a barrel. Brent crude futures, the global benchmark, rose 4.2% to $87.75 a barrel. The war with Iran has pushed up prices across the economy. Longer-run figures are in our U.S. inflation rate by year data.

Bonds, the Dollar, Gold and Bitcoin

Other markets moved less than stocks and oil. The 10-year Treasury yield, which influences rates on mortgages and other consumer loans, was around 4.55%, down one basis point from Thursday’s close.

The U.S. dollar index was near flat at 100.74. Gold futures gained 0.7% to $4,020 an ounce. Bitcoin traded around $64,100, down slightly over the previous 24 hours.

Communication Services Leads Sector Losses

Communication services was the S&P 500’s weakest sector. By late morning, the S&P 500 Communication Services Sector was down 2.8%, while the broader index was down 0.9%. Netflix (NFLX), Meta Platforms (META) and Paramount Skydance (PSKY) led the sector’s losses at that point, falling about 8.5%, 5.5% and 4.5%, respectively.

Only four of the S&P 500’s 11 sectors were lower in late-morning trading. Along with communication services, they were information technology, consumer discretionary and financials. The other seven sectors were higher.

Magnificent Seven Close Lower Except Apple

Six of the Magnificent Seven mega-cap tech stocks closed lower on Friday. Apple was the exception. On Thursday, five of the seven had ended in the red.

Alphabet (GOOGL) fell 2% on Friday. On Thursday it led the group’s declines with a drop of about 4.5%. That move followed a Bloomberg report that its Google unit “is months behind schedule” in delivering its flagship AI model, Gemini 3.5 Pro.

Meta Platforms was one of the largest decliners in the communication services sector, down about 5.5% in late-morning trading. Nvidia’s early decline of about 4.5% cost it the top market value ranking.

Netflix Falls to Two-Year Low on Slower Growth Outlook

Netflix closed down 7.5% at a two-year low after the streaming company guided for slower revenue growth. It forecast third-quarter revenue growth of 12% from a year earlier. That is below the 13% growth it reported for the second quarter and below analysts’ expectations.

The second-quarter results were close to forecasts. Netflix reported earnings of $0.80 per share on revenue of $12.56 billion. The Visible Alpha consensus called for $0.79 per share and $12.57 billion. The weaker outlook drove Friday’s sell-off.

On the earnings call, finance chief Adam Neumann played down the slowdown. “There is a little bit of quarter-to-quarter choppiness in growth because last year was more back-half weighted. So that may be a little bit of what you see in the deceleration,” he said.

Neumann said the company does not manage to quarterly growth rates. “We manage to the full year,” he said. “And halfway through the year, we’re making strong progress against our goals, and we’re tracking to our financial plan for 2026.”

Netflix shares had already lost more than 20% of their value this year before Friday’s drop.

SpaceX Extends Losing Streak to Six Days

Shares of Elon Musk-led SpaceX (SPCX) hit a fresh post-IPO low on Friday and closed down about 5%, a sixth straight daily decline. The selling followed a scrubbed Starship rocket test flight late Thursday.

Musk addressed the abort in a post on X late Thursday. “Some of the engines didn’t start, triggering an automatic launch abort,” he wrote. He added that the next launch attempt could happen in a few days.

From a $225 Peak to Below the IPO Price

The stock traded around $124 on Friday morning, down more than 5% at that point. On Thursday it fell 3% and closed just above $131. That was its first close below the $135 IPO price and its fifth straight decline. The Thursday drop came as the broader market fell in the tech sell-off.

SpaceX went public in mid-June in a record-breaking initial public offering. The shares reached a record above $225 a few days later. At Thursday’s close they were 42% below that peak.

The decline has reduced SpaceX’s market value to roughly $1.6 trillion from nearly $3 trillion last month. It remains one of the world’s most valuable companies.

Analysts Bullish as Lockup Expiration Approaches

Wall Street analysts remain broadly bullish on SpaceX. Visible Alpha’s mean price target is above $290.

Two near-term factors could weigh on the shares. One is continuing concern about the outlook for tech stocks. The other is the upcoming expiration of the lockup agreements that bar early investors from selling.

Some investors now describe SpaceX as a “value stock” after its decline. Leuthold Capital took a more skeptical view in a note this week. It suggested the shares are best left to buyers whose interest is “based on a desire to participate in some small way in the fantastic, almost unimaginable future that Isaac Asimov dreamt about.”

Coca-Cola Leads Dow Decliners After Fairlife Ransomware Event

Coca-Cola (KO) was the worst performer in the Dow on Friday, down about 4.5% in afternoon trading. The company disclosed a “ransomware event” at its dairy business, Fairlife.

The company said Fairlife “identified unauthorized access by a third party to a portion of its systems, including its production-related systems.”

Coca-Cola said “the full scope, nature and impacts of the incident are not yet known.” It said product quality and safety had not been affected. Fairlife’s production operations in the U.S. were temporarily suspended.

Even after Friday’s decline, Coca-Cola stock is up more than 15% in 2026.

Travelers Jumps on Lower Catastrophe Losses

Travelers (TRV) was the best performer in both the S&P 500 and the Dow, rising about 8% after the insurer far exceeded second-quarter profit forecasts. Before the open, the New York-based company reported core, or adjusted, earnings of $10.04 per share. The Visible Alpha consensus was $5.37.

Lower catastrophe losses drove the beat. Travelers reported pre-tax catastrophe losses of $518 million, compared with $927 million in the year-earlier quarter and a consensus estimate of $1.22 billion.

CEO Alan Schnitzer said the first-half results “reflect durable underlying fundamentals, the discipline with which we manage our balance sheet and the successful execution of our winning strategy.”

He also tied the results to the company’s spending plans. “The scale of our earnings and cash flow enable us to invest in differentiating technology, including AI, at a level that sets us apart, further strengthening the competitive advantages that power those results,” Schnitzer said.

With Friday’s gain, Travelers shares are up more than 25% this year.

Intuitive Surgical Slides as Procedure Outlook Holds Steady

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) was the worst performer in both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq in late-morning trading, down about 12%. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based surgical robotics maker beat second-quarter estimates but left its full-year outlook unchanged.

Intuitive kept its 2026 forecast for worldwide da Vinci procedure growth at roughly 13.5% to 15.5%. The company said it “expects to be closer to the midpoint of this range,” or about 14.5%. Analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha had expected 14.7%.

For the second quarter, Intuitive reported adjusted earnings of $2.80 per share. Revenue rose 19% from a year earlier to $2.89 billion. The Visible Alpha consensus called for $2.50 per share and $2.82 billion. The shares fell because the procedure growth guidance came in below the analyst estimate, despite the beat on earnings and revenue.

Including Friday’s decline, Intuitive shares have lost 37% of their value since the start of the year.

Options Price Large Moves for Alphabet and Tesla Earnings

Two Magnificent Seven companies, Alphabet and Tesla, report quarterly results after the closing bell on Wednesday. Options pricing implies sizable moves for both. The ranges below are measured from Thursday’s close.

Alphabet

Options pricing implies Alphabet shares could move up to about 6% in either direction by the end of the week after the report. From Thursday’s close, that range runs from below $333 to as high as $376. The top of the range would approach the high set in May.

Alphabet shares are up about 13% this year but have pulled back about 13% from their May highs. The stock rallied after a solid report in April. It has been volatile in recent weeks along with the broader AI trade, as worries about Big Tech spending grew. Last month, Alphabet announced plans to raise more than $80 billion to pay for its AI infrastructure buildout.

HSBC analysts said they will look for signs of whether customers are trying to manage AI costs by switching to lower-cost models. They will also watch how rising hardware prices are affecting the company’s spending plans. The Bloomberg report that Gemini 3.5 Pro is behind schedule is another issue heading into the results.

Tesla

Tesla (TSLA) options imply a move of up to about 7% in either direction by the end of the week after its report. From Thursday’s close, that implies a range from about $365 to above $416.

Tesla shares are more than 10% below where they started the year. The stock has been weighed down by uncertainty about the company’s transformation effort and by speculation about a possible merger with SpaceX, another Musk-led company, which went public last month and recently fell below its IPO price.

Morgan Stanley analysts recently raised their price target to $417 from $415. They said they expect a solid second quarter but that investors will likely focus more on updates to long-term projects. “Key investor debate remains unchanged: can Robotaxi and Optimus progress quickly enough to justify an accelerating AI investment cycle?” the analysts wrote.

Individual Investors Shift Within Tech

According to Vanda Research, Sandisk and Nvidia have been among the stocks individual investors sold most in non-retirement accounts over the past two weeks. SpaceX and Microsoft (MSFT) have been among the most purchased over the same period.

The selling of Sandisk and Nvidia came during a stretch of volatility driven by concerns about a bubble in semiconductor and AI stocks. Sandisk was also among the memory stocks that rebounded during Friday’s session.

What to Watch Next Week

Alphabet and Tesla earnings. Both companies report after the close on Wednesday. Options pricing implies moves of up to about 6% for Alphabet and about 7% for Tesla by the end of the week. Alphabet’s report will be the week’s main update on spending by a large AI buyer, after TSMC’s higher capex forecast set off this week’s chip sell-off.

Oil and the Middle East. WTI ended the week at $82.15 a barrel and Brent at $87.75 after the U.S. strikes on Iranian targets and the reported strike on a Kuwaiti utility plant.

SpaceX. Musk said a new Starship launch attempt could come within a few days. The expiration of the lockup agreements is also approaching.

Fairlife. Coca-Cola has said the scope and impact of the ransomware incident are still not known, and Fairlife’s U.S. production remains suspended.

The S&P 500 index page has the index’s live level, chart and longer-term performance.