AI Stocks Close
🔔 AI Stocks Close — Thursday, July 23, 2026 at 2:15 PM
Closes: SPX 7,498.96 (-0.1%) · NDX 25,690.90 (-0.6%) · DJI 52,218.58 (flat)
Day narrative: The S&P 500 printed a near-flat close that hid an absolutely violent session underneath — mega-cap tech took an AI capex shock to the face on Alphabet and Tesla earnings, while defense, energy, and utilities surged hard enough to eat almost every point of the damage.
Sectors: Best Utilities (XLU +2.3%) · Worst Communication Services (XLC -1.3%)
Movers:
• SMCI +~20% — record $60B order backlog + gross margin guidance jumped to 15–17% from 8.4%; volume ran 3× the 65-day average
• TSLA -14.5% — Q2 EPS $0.33 vs. $0.51 est., FCF turned negative (-$1.1B), capex doubled YoY; closed at an 11-month low
• GOOGL -7.1% — raised 2026 capex guidance to as much as $205B, spooking investors despite an 82% Cloud surge and a revenue beat
• MU +3.3% — AI memory demand thesis intact; Vera Rubin platform advances HBM/DRAM cycle
• AMZN -4.6% — caught in sympathetic capex-anxiety selling that swept across mega-caps
• ORCL -3.6% — dragged into the broader AI infrastructure cost re-rating
After-hours / Earnings:
• TSLA reported Q2 Jul 22 AH, missed estimates, -3% AH then Jul 23; today's session processed the full -14.5% reaction
• GOOGL reported Q2 Jul 22 AH, revenue beat but $205B capex shock; -7.1% fully priced in today
• INTC reported Q2 tonight, beat top and bottom lines, +6% AH — clean quarter rebuilds chipmaker credibility
Watchlist:
• MU $959 (+3.3%)
• NVDA ~$208 (-2.0%)
• MSFT ~$505 (-2.0%)
• GOOGL $317.69 (-7.1%)
• META ~$700 (-4.0%)
• AMZN $233.66 (-4.6%)
• AAPL ~$315 (-1.0%)
• AMD ~$185 (-2.5%)
• TSLA $319.69 (-14.5%)
• PLTR ~$131 (-6.0%)
• ARM ~$150 (-3.0%)
• SMCI ~$30 (+19.8%)
• ORCL ~$210 (-3.6%)
• SOUN ~$8.20 (-4.0%)
• IONQ ~$27 (-4.0%)
• BBAI ~$4.10 (-4.0%)
• AVGO ~$389 (-2.0%)
• CRM ~$290 (-2.0%)
• ADBE ~$420 (-2.0%)
• IBM ~$310 (-1.0%)
• SNOW ~$190 (-3.0%)
• MDB ~$215 (-3.0%)
• NET ~$105 (-3.0%)
• CRWD ~$375 (-2.0%)
• TSM ~$417 (-1.0%)
• ASML ~$825 (-1.5%)
Macro:
• Brent crude crossed $100/barrel intraday, settled near $94 (+3.3%) — Houthi attacks on Saudi tankers; Trump threatened Iranian infrastructure
• 10-year Treasury: 4.66% (18-month high); 30-year at 5.13%
• Gold above $4,100/oz (+2%); Bitcoin $65,054 (-1.3%)
• VIX: 16.64 (-2.4%) — options market stayed calm despite tech carnage, confirming rotation not panic
• FOMC quiet period begins; meeting July 28–29
Tomorrow: 47 earnings on deck; New Home Sales (June); Fed quiet period continues ahead of July 28–29 FOMC · Anthropic IPO watch: roadshow investor meetings live as of mid-July, S-1 filed June 1, potential October debut at ~$965B valuation · OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar says company not yet ready for public markets