Stock Market Update
18-Sep-26 15:00 ET
Major averages mostly higher as semiconductor stocks outperform
Dow -70.37
at 51707.67,
Nasdaq +42.85
at 26482.19,
S&P +5.66
at 7643.42
[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.1%), Nasdaq Composite (+0.2%), and DJIA (-0.1%) are decently improved from their session lows, now mostly higher with just an hour left in Friday's session.
Strength has broadened this afternoon, with five S&P 500 sectors now trading higher. The information technology sector (+0.3%) holds the widest gain for the day, supported by strength across semiconductor stocks.
Memory and storage names are among the more notable outperformers, with Sandisk (SNDK 1740.66, +126.27, +7.82%), Seagate Tech (STX 856.47, +53.34, +6.64%), Western Digital (WDC 442.51, +18.64, +4.40%), and Micron (MU 1009.05, +31.55, +3.23%) benefiting from continued enthusiasm surrounding AI data-center demand and tight storage supply. Comments from Intel (INTC 107.11, -1.69, -1.55%) CEO Lip-Bu Tan that memory-chip prices have risen sharply and supply constraints could persist into next year have reinforced expectations for favorable pricing, while a Reuters report highlighting a global NAND shortage tied to AI servers has provided additional support for the group.
