Tech Slump Drags Markets as Retail Sales Hit Estimates
Chipmaker stocks led a broad tech sell-off Thursday while US retail sales landed on target and the dollar strengthened across the board.
A sharp tech-driven sell-off rattled Wall Street Thursday as chipmakers cratered, gold tumbled below $4,000, and the US dollar surged, even as June retail sales came in exactly at the expected +0.2% — offering a modest reassurance on consumer health. The Nasdaq Composite shed 1.5% on the day, with losses concentrated in high-profile technology names before a partial recovery in the final half-hour of trading.
The chipmaker rout was particularly severe. Micron shares dropped 5.9%, hitting their lowest level since late May, while Sandisk plunged 12.6%. Google parent Alphabet also fell after a report surfaced that its latest Gemini AI model has underperformed internal development goals. Despite the headline pain, more S&P 500 stocks advanced than declined, with banking shares posting notably solid gains — a split session that underscores how concentrated the selling pressure was in tech.
Read more UnitedHealth Beats Estimates, Raises Outlook on Cost Cuts →
On the economic data front, retail sales matched forecasts, and May business inventories also came in at the expected +0.3%. Initial jobless claims surprised to the downside at 208,000 versus an estimate of 217,000, signaling continued labor market resilience. United Airlines commentary added to the cautiously optimistic consumer picture, with management flagging strength among affluent travelers. Pending home sales for June were a glaring outlier, dropping 5.4% against a forecast of just -0.5%.
Federal Reserve officials maintained a hawkish posture Thursday. Fed's Logan characterized AI investment demand as "big, real and near-term inflationary," while Fed's Schmid called recent inflation data encouraging but premature to draw firm conclusions from. USD/JPY extended its climb following this week's brief CPI-driven dip, with the dollar broadly leading and the Swiss franc lagging across major pairs.
Gold bore some of the session's heaviest losses, falling $83 to $3,976 after selling accelerated sharply once the $4,000 level broke. WTI crude slipped modestly to $79.03. Analysts note gold bulls are awaiting a softer dollar and geopolitical de-escalation — neither of which materialized Thursday amid vague reports of infrastructure attacks in Iran. Continue reading at Forexlive.
