Wall Street Wrap: How the S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq Performed
October 8, 2026 | ATN Trade & Finance
US equities closed mixed on Thursday as a sharp selloff in AI and semiconductor stocks dragged the Nasdaq to its second consecutive loss, while the Dow held its ground and the S&P 500 slipped modestly.
The Closing Numbers
- S&P 500: 7,765.36 — down 36.41 points (-0.47%)
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 51,231.64 — up 51.77 points (+0.10%)
- Nasdaq Composite: 27,193.34 — down 345.35 points (-1.25%)
The Dow's resilience came from defensive and energy names holding firm, while the Nasdaq bore the weight of a broad chip selloff that pushed the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index down as much as 4% intraday.
What Drove the Move: AI Revenue Fears Hit Chips
The session's defining story was a Financial Times report that OpenAI's annualized revenue came in significantly below earlier projections — a number that rattled confidence in near-term AI infrastructure spending. The reaction in semiconductor stocks was swift. Arm Holdings, Intel, and Marvell Technology each fell more than 6% at session lows. Micron dropped more than 5%. Nvidia also declined. News that an Australian data center backed by Nvidia had failed to attract its hoped-for funding added to the unease.
Oil and Yields Kept the Pressure On
For the second straight session, macro headwinds compounded the technology-led weakness. Brent crude pushed above $103 per barrel amid continued tanker attacks near the Strait of Hormuz and concerns about a potential US military response to Iranian activity. The 10-year Treasury yield held near 5.29% and the 30-year reached approximately 5.67% — levels that continue to raise the opportunity cost of holding growth stocks. Fed minutes released Thursday confirmed the hawkish tone: most policymakers still expect at least one more rate hike before year-end.
On the positive side, initial jobless claims fell to 197,000 for the week ended October 3, the lowest in several months — a reminder that the labor market remains tight even as equity markets digest rate and geopolitical risk.
Notable Movers
- Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG): +7.36% — Reports emerged that Starbucks explored a takeover approach. Starbucks (SBUX) fell 4.35% on the same news.
- Palantir Technologies (PLTR): +~3% — Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to Buy.
- PepsiCo (PEP): +1.92% to $126.10 — Shares gained modestly after Q3 EPS beat, though guidance commentary gave investors a mixed picture.
- Eli Lilly (LLY): -4% — Profit-taking and valuation concerns weighed on the GLP-1 leader.
- Haemonetics (HAE): +17.29% — Surged after announcing a deal with CSL Plasma.
What this means for traders and investors: The split between the Dow and Nasdaq is telling — money is rotating away from AI-linked growth names and into more defensive positions as yields stay elevated and the AI capex narrative faces its first real stress test. The OpenAI revenue miss matters because it calls into question the pace of hyperscaler spending, which is the demand engine behind semiconductor and cloud infrastructure stocks. Watch for any official OpenAI response and for Nvidia's commentary at upcoming investor events. The Chipotle-Starbucks story is a reminder that M&A activity is picking up in consumer — another classic late-cycle signal.
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