On a negative note, the main indicators closed on Wednesday at New York Stock Exchange, as the shares of semiconductor manufacturers were under pressure after a particularly strong first half of the year.
The technological indicator Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.66%, at 26.040.031 units. The wider indicator S&P 500 He retreated marginally by 0.22%, at 7.483.23 units. On the contrary, the industrial index Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.03%, closing at 52.305,24 units.
Its share Micron recorded a fall of 10.57%, although it still showed an increase of about 277% from the beginning of the year. The Sandisk lost 10.62%, retreating after the impressive rise of over 850 percent that he had scored in the first half of 2026. The shares of Nvidia and Broadcom They also declined by approximately 1.25% and 2.23%, respectively.
These losses are attributable to win registration by investors in the shares in the semiconductor sector, after a first half-record for this sector. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) mutual capital was strengthened by 80% in the first six months of the year, recording the best first semester performance since its establishment, in May 2000.
At the same time, the main stock indices also completed a particularly strong first semester. Dow Jones recorded an 8.9% rise, scoring his best performance in the first semester since 2021. The wider S&P 500 index was boosted by 9.6%, while Nasdaq recorded an increase of 12.8%. The Russell 2000 small capitalization index was ejected by almost 22%, achieving the best first semester performance since 1991.
The total market overperformance during the first half of 2026 was mainly powered by the rally on shares related to semiconductors and Artificial Intelligence, while Tuesday's profits were partly due to the new increase in the industry's shares. The historic rally of semiconductor companies added a total of $2 trillion to the stock market value of Micron, Intel and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) during the second quarter of 2026.
In view of the second half of the year, its co-founder Bespoke Investment Group, Paul Hickey, He said he still sees the industry positively, but estimates that the rise may have become too intense.
«In the long term we still prefer the semiconductor industry, but at this stage I would not be particularly aggressive. The current upward market is driven by Artificial Intelligence – this is its key issue. If this upward trend is to continue, technology will lead and probably semiconductors will lead.
However, it is not necessary to overpay constantly and such a rate cannot continue indefinitely.», stated to CNBC«In that sense, I think the valuations have become somewhat... excessive. So maybe it's time for a little pause.»
Investors also monitored developments from the Federal Reserve, as its chairman, Kevin Warsh, held a speech at the European Central Bank conference in Portugal. Although it did not give any indication of monetary policy in view of the month's meeting, it noted that «We have found that prices remain very high».
