Markets Mixed as Middle East Deal Hopes Offset Tech Weakness; SpaceX Lockup Passes Without Major Selloff

U.S. stocks closed mixed Thursday as investors monitored developments around a potential Iran deal while technology shares weighed on major indices. The S&P 500 fell 0.15% to 7,711.93, while the Dow dropped 463.39 points. The Nasdaq managed a marginal 0.01% gain to close at 26,364.52.

Chip stocks led declines, with Western Digital plunging 18.5% and Sandisk falling 11.3% on weak guidance. The semiconductor sector remained 14% below its June highs despite recent stabilization. Market volatility eased significantly, with the VIX falling to 42, its lowest level since May 22.

SpaceX dominated trading attention as up to 911.5 million shares unlocked, more than doubling the freely tradable float to approximately 1.55 billion shares. Contrary to widespread selloff fears, SpaceX shares rose modestly as major shareholders held their positions. Direxion launched a 2X bear ETF coinciding with the unlock event.

Individual stock movements were pronounced across sectors. Honest Company, Redwire, Dana, Praxis Precision Medicines, Hertz, First Advantage, Magnite, Cronos, Albemarle, Fox Corp, IonQ, Marriott Vacations, Constellation Energy, Lamar Advertising, Playtika, and Joby Aviation all surged on company-specific developments. Conversely, Take-Two Interactive, Salesforce, Dell Technologies, Datadog, Collegium Pharmaceutical, Tripadvisor, Insulet, D-Wave, HubSpot, AppLovin, Oscar Health, Etsy, ThredUp, and Inseego declined sharply.

Tesla continued its 2026 slide despite one analyst's prediction of 100% upside potential.