US stocks mostly fall as Nvidia extends losses; Dow edges up

U.S. stocks largely ended in negative territory on August 24, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average posting a modest gain. The broader market sentiment was weighed down by geopolitical and economic concerns, including U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's announcement of economic pressure on Iran aimed at ending the conflict in the Middle East, as well as trade tensions between the U.S. and Canada.

Investors approached the market with caution, particularly as Nvidia, a key player in the chip industry, was set to release its earnings report on August 26. Ahead of the report, selling pressure intensified, impacting major indices. Nvidia's stock experienced a significant downturn, falling 2.9% and marking its seventh consecutive day of decline, the longest losing streak since 2022. Other semiconductor and memory chip stocks also faced selling pressure, with Micron plummeting 5.83%, Broadcom down 2.63%, and AMD falling 3.49%.

In contrast to the broader market's decline, the 'Magnificent Seven' tech giants showed mixed performance. Meta saw a rise of 1.66%, Apple increased by 0.32%, Alphabet gained 0.94%, Microsoft was up 0.84%, and Amazon climbed 1.33%. However, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index fell 200.26 points, or 0.77%, to close at 25,980.19. The S&P 500 index also registered a loss, declining 21.51 points, or 0.28%, to 7,652.86. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index bore the brunt of the chip sector's sell-off, dropping 317.21 points, or 2.70%, to 11,423.17.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's (TSMC) ADR also declined, falling 2.11% to close at $410.12. Conversely, UMC ADR saw a gain of 3.87%, ending the day at $19.05. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, however, managed to eke out a gain of 140.15 points, or 0.26%, reaching 53,417.16.