Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.2%) and DJIA (+0.3%) are at their best levels of the morning, while some weakness in tech keeps the Nasdaq Composite (-0.4%) in negative territory.

Intel (INTC 96.99, -3.24, -3.23%)  is under pressure this morning despite delivering a strong beat and issuing Q3 guidance above expectations, suggesting investors are weighing improved near-term execution against a more capital-intensive and still supply-constrained outlook. The company also raised expected 2026 CapEx to more than $20 billion from $18 billion, said 2027 CapEx will be significantly above 2026, and acknowledged that demand continues to outpace supply across wafers, substrates, memory, and advanced packaging, leaving the pace of further upside dependent partly on supply expansion.

Ultimately, the market is looking for evidence that Intel's AI-driven server strength and foundry strategy are reinforcing one another, rather than forcing a tradeoff between near-term profitability and long-term competitiveness.