Wall St flat as SK Hynix’s stellar debut limits losses in chip stocks

By Ragini Mathur and Avinash P

July 10 (Reuters) – Wall Street’s main indexes were little changed in choppy trading on Friday, as the blockbuster Nasdaq debut of South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix capped losses in chip stocks that wavered at the end of a tumultuous week.

The artificial intelligence trade returned to the spotlight after SK Hynix opened 14% above its offering price at $170 in a high-profile U.S. listing. The memory-chip maker raised about $26.5 billion on Thursday by selling American Depositary Receipts priced at $149 each.

“The stock isn’t racing ahead because, remember, this is not an IPO. It’s a secondary offering of a company that’s been publicly traded for some time. As I said, it will facilitate U.S. investors access to the stock, which is certainly good news for global holders,” said Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers.

Chipmakers have been among the biggest beneficiaries of this year’s AI-driven rally, fueled by expectations of heavy spending by hyperscalers. But concerns over stretched valuations and profit taking have recently injected volatility into the sector.

Semiconductor shares came under pressure on Friday. Micron Technology slipped 3%, giving back part of its 4.5% gain from the previous session, while the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index fell 0.8%.

Elsewhere, Meta Platforms rose 6.1% to its highest level since April, helping lift the communication services sector by 0.5%. Seven of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were trading higher.

Healthcare was the biggest drag on the benchmark index, led by a 10.6% drop in Moderna, which was on pace for its worst one-day decline in more than a year.

At 11:57 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 110.06 points, or 0.21%, to 52,597.47, the S&P 500 gained 9.75 points, or 0.13%, to 7,553.35 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 5.36 points, or 0.02%, to 26,201.53.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were on track for their second consecutive weekly gain, while the blue-chip Dow was poised to break a four-week winning streak.

Geopolitical risks have kept investors on edge after a fresh exchange of attacks between the U.S. and Iran this week. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that Iran had asked to continue talks and the U.S. had agreed, but that the June ceasefire was “over”.

The latest escalation revived concerns about the inflationary impact of the war that could complicate the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy path.

Next week’s June inflation data will offer fresh insight into the Fed’s likely policy path, while Fed Chair Kevin Warsh is also scheduled to testify before the House Committee on Financial Services.

Markets are pricing in at least one 25-basis-point rate hike by the end of 2026, according to LSEG data.

Earnings are set to gather pace next week, with top banks reporting quarterly results. Analysts are expecting S&P 500 earnings to rise 23.7% from a year earlier, with technology companies driving much of the growth, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Delta Air Lines dropped 2.1%, even after forecasting third-quarter profit above expectations.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.19-to-1 ratio on the NYSE, and declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.39-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite posted no new 52-week highs and no new lows.

(Reporting by Ragini Mathur and Avinash P in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai and Shinjini Ganguli)