[New York Stock Market] Mixed Close Amid Semiconductor Tariff Concerns

The three major stock indexes on the New York Stock Exchange closed mixed. While U.S. retail sales for July came in solid, technology stocks faced strong downward pressure following President Donald Trump's announcement that he would soon unveil plans for semiconductor tariffs.

Meanwhile, news broke that Berkshire Hathaway had been quietly accumulating shares in UnitedHealth Group (UNH), the largest U.S. insurer, causing UNH stock to surge. The blue-chip-heavy Dow Jones Industrial Average also rose.

On August 15 (local time) at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 44,946.12, up 34.86 points (0.08%) from the previous session.

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The large-cap-focused S&P 500 Index fell 18.74 points (0.29%) to 6,449.80, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 87.69 points (0.40%) to close at 21,622.98.

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. retail sales in July increased by 0.5% month-over-month to $726.3 billion, in line with expectations. Notably, the market remained optimistic as the retail sales growth rate for June was revised upward from 0.6% to 0.9% month-over-month.

Core retail sales (the control group), which exclude volatile categories such as automobiles, gasoline, building materials, and food services, also rose by 0.5% from the previous month, surpassing the market forecast of a 0.4% increase. The control group is a metric used in calculating Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

However, as stock indexes had already risen significantly this week while digesting the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI), investors did not treat the retail sales data as an additional catalyst for further gains.

Instead, they reacted sensitively to the semiconductor tariff news, selling off stocks related to artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductors in particular.

Trump, speaking aboard Air Force One en route to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, said, "Next week or the week after, we will set tariffs on steel and semiconductor chips," adding, "After a certain period, they will be set very high."

Some media outlets reported that Trump said semiconductor tariffs could reach as high as 300%. Although this has not been verified, the market is already pricing in the possibility of a 300% tariff.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunged 2.26%, with only 3 out of its 30 constituent stocks posting slight gains.

Nvidia, Broadcom, ASML, and AMD each fell by around 1%. Applied Materials saw its stock plummet by 14%, hit by the added negative of a deteriorating earnings outlook.

Separately, the Dow Jones Index set a new intraday all-time high, the first in six months since mid-February.

By sector, healthcare rose 1.65% thanks to UNH. Consumer staples, real estate, and communication services also gained. Financials declined by more than 1%.

Amid semiconductor tariff pressures, mega-cap tech firms with market capitalizations over $1 trillion also faltered. Amazon, Meta, and Alphabet rose but only managed modest gains.

Jay Hatfield, CEO of Infrastructure Capital Advisors, stated, "Because the AI boom and the Federal Reserve's rate cuts are supporting the market, I believe the likelihood of the S&P 500 falling in August and September is low."

Consumer sentiment is deteriorating. According to the University of Michigan, the preliminary August Consumer Sentiment Index came in at 58.6, down 3.1 points from July's final reading of 61.7 and well below market expectations.

U.S. import prices in July saw a larger increase. The U.S. Department of Labor announced that import prices rose 0.4% in July compared to the previous month. This increase was larger than in June and exceeded market forecasts.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) Volatility Index (VIX) rose 0.26 points (1.75%) to 15.09.