S&P 500 slips as Nvidia’s surge spares benchmark indexes from a bludgeoning

Chipmakers got a lift from the ability to send AI processors to China once again, but that was only enough to stave off a much bigger decline for the S&P 500 in a session where the lion’s share of constituents posted losses.

The benchmark US stock index gave back 0.4%, while the Nasdaq 100 eked out a 0.1% gain and the Russell 2000 tumbled 2%.

It’s a small loss for the ages: the number of stocks in the S&P 500 that fell outnumbered those that rose by 404. Based on data going back to 1997, the index has never had a loss this small during a session when that many of its constituents declined.

Tech was the only S&P 500 sector ETF to finish positive.

Nvidia and AMD said they received word from the Commerce Department that export curbs on AI chip sales to China have been softened, sending shares sharply higher.

Chinese stocks also got a boost from the news, along with solid Q2 GDP growth, as Baidu, Alibaba, JD.com, and Temu parent PDD Holdings all posted strong gains.

MP Materials, which recently saw the Pentagon announce its intention to take a substantial stake, surged again after Apple said it plans to invest $500 million in the rare earths miner.

The Trade Desk soared upon news that it’s being added to the S&P 500.

Stellar Q2 results and a boost to full-year anticipated net interest income weren’t enough to prevent a dip in shares for JPMorgan.

Robinhood and Meta fell despite receiving price target upgrades from various brokerages, while Microsoft booked a small gain after Jefferies hiked its price target to $600.

(Robinhood Markets Inc. is the parent company of Sherwood Media, an independently operated media company subject to certain legal and regulatory restrictions.)

Online real estate sales company Opendoor Technologies was a massive gainer, with call volumes setting a record as retail traders on the r/WallStreetBets subreddit took a shining to the name.