U.S. stocks fell Wednesday as semiconductor stocks pulled back after a record-breaking first half of the year.
Losses were spread across the major indexes, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average off 184 points, or 0.3%, the S&P 500 down 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite closing 0.6% lower
Among notable movers, Nvidia and Broadcom gave back roughly 3% and 2%, respectively, while Sandisk tumbled 8% — a pullback that still left it more than 850% higher for the first half of 2026, according to CNBC. Micron retreated 6%, though its year-to-date advance stood at around 277%. The selloff came as investors took profits on semiconductor stocks after a strong six-month run.
Going back to its May 2000 launch, the VanEck Semiconductor ETF had never posted a stronger opening six months than the 82% it returned in the first half of 2026. The major indexes closed out the first half of 2026 with broad gains. For the full first half, the S&P 500 added 9.6% and the Nasdaq rose 12.8%, while the Dow’s 8.9% advance was its strongest January-through-June showing in five years.