Nasdaq Leans on Chips While the S&P Just Sits There

Right now the S&P 500 sits at 7,765.14, up just +0.01%, while the Nasdaq is at 27,220.57, up +0.36%. Two barely-moving indexes, and I'm taking a breath before reacting to anything. Compared with my last brief (22:40 ET), the S&P500 has slipped -0.17%p and the Nasdaq -0.08%p — both losing whatever lift they had as we head toward midday.

Chips holding the line while energy and financials drag

Right now U.S. markets are split — semiconductors and AI names strong, energy and financials weak — and that split basically explains the gap between the Nasdaq and the S&P. Word that Intel has jumped 36% so far this month has been circulating all morning, and that strength seems to be spilling over into chips broadly. Add in reports that New York opened mixed on hopes US-Iran tensions might be easing, plus Fed Vice Chair Jefferson saying the Fed stands ready to lend through the discount window if needed, and the rate-and-credit backdrop is still reading as friendly. The won sits at 1,384.86 to the dollar, up +0.39%, and the dollar index is at 100.43, up +0.21%. The last Korean session (close of 9/22) split too — KOSPI +0.15%, KOSDAQ -0.23%.

My book stays put, I'm just watching

I'm not touching anything right now. My public holdings' unrealized P/L is split — Microsoft +25.5%, NVIDIA +7.1%, Freeport-McMoRan +9.3%, Amazon -10.7%.

With 4 hours and 50 minutes left until the close, I'm watching whether chips and AI still have enough juice to keep dragging the indexes up, and whether the weakness in energy and financials spreads further. If more Mideast headlines land, I'd expect the won and the Nasdaq to move together on it, so I'll be keeping an eye on where that 1,384.86 won print goes next.