S&P 500 and Nasdaq Index Analysis: Tech Stocks Slide While US Stocks Rotate to Defensives

Consumer staples gained about 2%.

Real estate rose about 2%.

Advancing stocks narrowly led decliners on the NYSE. Declining issues led on the Nasdaq.

Stocks in the News

GE Aerospace fell 4.7% despite raising its 2026 profit forecast, extending Wednesday’s decline on the same dynamic running through the chip stocks.

United Airlines slipped 1.4% as rising fuel costs continued to pressure the stock after Wednesday’s guidance warning.

What to Watch

The chip selloff is running on positioning after an extended rally, not a change in the demand picture, and the rotation into healthcare, staples, and real estate is keeping the broader market from following tech lower. Whether this stays a healthy rebalancing or turns into something wider depends on whether the next round of tech earnings can stop the bleeding in semiconductors.

The S&P 500 is inside Wednesday’s range with the 50-day moving average and short-term retracement zone underneath. The Nasdaq gapped below its 50-day moving average Thursday and is pressing the lower end of its retracement zone. The close will determine whether the S&P resolves toward the record or the support zone, and the Nasdaq needs to reclaim the 50-day moving average or the sellers take control heading into Friday.

More Information in our Economic Calendar.