Investing.com — Wall Street ended in the red on Tuesday, weighed down by a slide in the technology sector as the artificial intelligence trade took a hit from a post-earnings decline in South Korean giant .
Also dragging sentiment was a rise in oil prices as tensions escalated after reports of three tankers being attacked in the last 24 hours in and around the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, a key North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) event was in focus, where President Donald Trump held a bilateral meeting with Türkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The benchmark S&P 500 index shed 0.5% to close at 7,501.05 points, while the tech-heavy slipped 1.2% to settle at 25,818.69 points, and the finished 1.8% lower. The blue-chip declined 0.3% to conclude at 52,924.56 points.
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Samsung’s guidance fails to meet sky-high expectations
The high-flying AI trade played a major role in helping Wall Street shake off the Middle East conflict in April and May and return to record levels.
However, with the U.S. and Iran signing an interim peace agreement in mid-June and oil prices hitting pre-war levels soon after, the geopolitical risk premium was effectively removed and investors were able to refocus on drivers of the technology rally such as soaring chip and memory stocks. A bout of profit-taking combined with concerns that the AI trade had flown too high and too fast emerged over the second half of June.
On Tuesday, the spotlight was on preliminary fiscal Q1 results and Q2 guidance from Samsung Electronics.
The company, which was already a smartphone and electronics manufacturing powerhouse, has been a major beneficiary of the world’s biggest tech companies such as Nvidia pouring billions into building out computing capacity for AI processes, leading to surging demand for High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) and conventional Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) products. The AI boom swelled Samsung’s market capitalization into one of South Korea’s two biggest firms, along with rival .
For Q2, Samsung sees consolidated operating profit of about 89.4 trillion won ($59.01 billion) on consolidated sales of around 171 trillion won. The profit figure in particular would be a record for Samsung, and would represent a whopping 19-fold increase from a year ago. But South Korean-listed shares of the tech giant closed nearly 7% lower after the announcement, dragging down SK Hynix over 6% and the flagship almost 5%.
“The scale of earnings growth at Samsung is jaw-dropping and a sign of the AI times. Second quarter operating profit jumped 19-fold as it rode the surge in demand for chips. It’s the kind of performance most companies can only dream of,” Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said.
“Unfortunately for Samsung, it just wasn’t enough for investors. They had an inkling the results would be good given everything that’s happened with memory chip prices this year, with significant demand growth in a supply-constrained market making these components incredibly valuable,” he said.
“Investors might have taken the view all the good news is now in the price, and that it was time to take some money off the table. Samsung’s shares slumped, dragging stock market darling SK Hynix down with it. Investors are increasingly showing nervousness at the pace of spending with AI and are viewing the tech space with more caution,” Coatsworth added.
At home, the ended 4.7% lower, while the broader S&P 500 technology sector lost 1.6%. Memory and chip names dominated the percentage losers on the Nasdaq Composite, including , , , and Sandisk.
Oil prices surge 5% as tensions flare up
Away from tech, geopolitical risks were back on the table on Tuesday after the U.S. Treasury Department on revoked a general license authorizing the sale of Iranian crude oil, in what was said to be a response against Tehran following fresh attacks on ships in the Gulf.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) earlier said it had received reports about attacks on three separate oil tankers over the past 24 hours in and around the critical Strait of Hormuz. Two of those tankers were hit by unknown projectiles while the third was truck by a drone, the UKMTO said, adding that there were no casualties reported.
While Iran has not publicly said it was responsible for the attacks, Axios reported that Iran’s military had fired upon three commercial ships, citing U.S. officials. Iran has previously said any vessels attempting to transit the strait must only use routes approved by Tehran, and avoid a separate temporary shipping corridor established by Oman and the International Maritime Organization.
Qatar identified one of the vessels reported to the UKMTO as the Al-Rekayyat and condemned the attack on the ship, saying it held Iran “fully legally responsible.” Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia identified one of the other vessels as a Saudi tanker called the Vijian and likewise condemned the attack.
The latest attacks threaten to further destabilize relations between Washington and Tehran after both sides inked an interim peace deal last month that ended fighting on all fronts and reopened the strait. Tensions had already flared at the end of June when Iran’s military attacked ships that prompted retaliatory airstrikes from the U.S. military.
Against this backdrop, oil prices spiked on Tuesday, with crude futures expiring in September, the global benchmark, last up 5.2% to $75.76 a barrel. Prices on Monday had remained near pre-war levels, and Brent last week notched its worst quarter since 2020.
Trump attends NATO event, is critical of allies
Away from the Middle East, investors were also keeping an eye on the NATO Summit Defense Industry Forum taking place in Türkiye’s capital Ankara. The organization issued several announcements, including a commitment to invest $40 billion in counter-drone capabilities over the next five years, new coproduction initiatives, and the procurement of up to five Triton aircraft from Northrop Grumman.
The event was attended by President Trump, who has earlier expressed his frustration at NATO for not helping the U.S. in its campaign against Iran. He was again critical of the organization on Tuesday at a bilateral appearance with Erdoğan, saying that if it weren’t for the event being held in Türkiye and his friendship with the country’s leader, he wouldn’t have attended.
“Well, we’re going to see,” Trump told reporters when asked whether there could be further U.S. troop drawdowns in Europe.
“I was very disappointed with NATO … we weren’t treated well, because we did something in Iran — we don’t need anybody’s help, I didn’t even want their help — but before I asked they said they wouldn’t be there,” the U.S. president said.
He also addressed the possibility of selling Lockheed Martin’s F-35 fighter jets to Türkiye, despite the U.S. Congress in 2019 banning such a move over its acquisition of the S-400 Russian air defense system. “It’s a decision we are going to make…Turkey has been, in many ways, much more loyal than other countries that we think would be loyal — so, yeah, it’s something certainly we would consider,” Trump said, adding that the U.S. would also lift earlier sanctions imposed upon the country.
joins Nasdaq 100, falls almost 7%
Turning to Tuesday’s active movers, SpaceX officially joined the Nasdaq 100, but its first day in the tech-focused index ended on a negative note as its class A shares fell nearly 7%.
The rocket company’s stock also saw a wave of analyst rating initiations as the quiet period ended, with bullish calls from major names such as Bank of America, Citi, Deutsche Bank, and Goldman Sachs.
Elsewhere, slumped over 18%, as its announcement of a share offering overshadowed strong preliminary quarterly results.
Ayushman Ojha and Scott Kanowsky contributed to this article