S&P 500 Closes at a Record as Semiconductors Drive the Gain
As seen on the 24/7 Wall St. homepage on August 13, 2026.
- S&P 500+0.66%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average+0.05%
- Nasdaq Composite+0.91%
Semiconductors carried the S&P 500 to a record close, while the Dow gained just 25 points. Anyone underweight chips got almost none of today's rally.
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The S&P 500 closed at a record 7,799.80, a finish powered almost entirely by semiconductor stocks. Investors light on chips saw very little of the day's move.
The Nasdaq Composite rose roughly 0.91%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which carries far less chip exposure, managed only a slim gain.
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That concentration cuts both ways: with a single sector doing most of the lifting, the index's strength masks weakness elsewhere. Anyone benchmarking against the S&P 500 without meaningful semiconductor weight had a difficult day relative to the headline number.
The index held its gains through the afternoon and never threatened to turn negative, while the Dow spent part of the midday session in the red before recovering to a slim positive close.