S&P 500 +1.08% on a Chip Surge as Intel Jumps 10.6%; Accenture Sinks 18% (18 June 2026 US Close)
S&P 500 close: 7,500.58 (+1.08%) Breadth: tech and small caps led; Dow flat at +0.14% Sentiment: bullish
The S&P 500 closed at 7,500.58 on 18 June 2026, up 1.08%, as a broad semiconductor rally led by Intel (INTC.US) +10.64% reclaimed the 7,500 level it lost in Wednesday's hawkish-Fed selloff. Accenture (ACN.US) fell 17.97% to $127.98 after cutting its full-year revenue growth outlook, and IT-services peers fell with it. Soft May retail sales (+0.1% versus a +0.3% forecast) held the Dow at +0.14% and pushed bets back toward two Fed rate cuts this year.
What drove the move
- Semiconductors did most of the 108 bps of S&P gain. Intel (INTC.US) jumped 10.64% to $133.99 after President Trump posted that Apple had agreed to work with Intel on US chip production. Neither company confirmed the claim, and Apple (AAPL.US) itself rose just 0.70%. The read-through still lifted chip peers: Micron (MU.US) +8.70%, Qualcomm (QCOM.US) +6.17%, AMD (AMD.US) +4.86%, Arm (ARM.US) +4.91%, Broadcom (AVGO.US) +4.70% and Nvidia (NVDA.US) +2.95%. Equipment and memory names ran harder, with ACM Research (ACMR.US) +14.22%, Entegris (ENTG.US) +13.62% and Corning (GLW.US) +11.13%.
- A soft consumer print pulled rate-cut odds forward. May retail sales rose 0.1% against a 0.3% forecast, and fed-funds pricing moved back toward two cuts this year versus the Fed's one-cut projection from Wednesday. The Russell 2000 (RUT) gained 2.12% to 2,979.77 and the VIX fell 11.06% to 16.40, a risk-on response across small caps and volatility.
- An IT-services rout is why the Dow stayed flat. Accenture (ACN.US) -17.97% led ten consulting names lower, and the soft-retail print hit grocers (Kroger KR.US -8.43%) and steel (Steel Dynamics STLD.US -7.49%). Those drags pinned the Dow at +0.14% while the chip-heavy Nasdaq ran +1.91%.
Together the chip surge and the rate-cut repricing more than covered the 108 bps index gain. The consulting and retail-sensitive drag is what kept the Dow flat and left the S&P well behind the Nasdaq.
Session highlights
- S&P 500 closed at 7,500.58, up 1.08%, recovering the 7,500 level lost on Wednesday.
- Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) rose 1.91% to 26,517.93, outrunning the Dow's +0.14% by 1.77 points as chips outweighed the consulting drag.
- Russell 2000 (RUT) added 2.12% to 2,979.77; small caps led on firmer rate-cut odds.
- VIX fell 11.06% to 16.40, unwinding Wednesday's spike.
- US Dollar Index (DXY) firmed 0.72% to 100.81; the US 10-year yield eased about 1 bp to 4.45%.
Sector scorecard
- Leaders: Technology, on a semiconductor surge that ran 5% to 18% across chipmakers, equipment and memory.
- Laggards: IT-services and consulting (Accenture and peers), grocers (KR.US, ACI.US -6.66%) and steel (STLD.US).
- Widest internal split: Technology itself, where chipmakers ran +10% to +18% while IT-services names fell 6% to 18%, the day's sharpest single-sector divide.
Top movers
| Ticker | Move | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| INTC.US | +10.64% | Trump said Apple agreed to US chip work with Intel; neither confirmed |
| KMX.US | +13.14% | CarMax earnings beat: $1.31 EPS versus a $0.96 estimate |
| MU.US | +8.70% | Micron rode the chip rally into next week's earnings |
| ACN.US | -17.97% | Cut FY revenue growth to 3% to 4%; announced $4.18B cybersecurity deals |
| EPAM.US | -12.61% | IT-services peer fell with Accenture's guidance cut |
| KR.US | -8.43% | Kroger dropped despite a fiscal Q1 revenue beat |
After-hours earnings
The post-close calendar was bare ahead of Friday's Juneteenth market holiday. The session's marquee reports all landed before the open and played out in regular trading: Accenture (ACN.US) -17.97% on its guidance cut, CarMax (KMX.US) +13.14% on an earnings beat, and Kroger (KR.US) -8.43% despite a revenue beat. No major name reported after the bell.
Notable announcements
- Accenture (ACN.US) reported fiscal Q3 EPS of $3.80, above the $3.70 consensus, on revenue of $18.72B that fell just short of the $18.78B estimate. It then cut full-year revenue growth guidance to 3% to 4% from 3% to 5% and announced $4.18B of cybersecurity acquisitions, a combination that overshadowed the earnings beat.
- CarMax (KMX.US) posted $1.31 EPS against a $0.96 estimate; shares rose 13.14% to $53.66.
- Kroger (KR.US) revenue of $46.1B beat the $45.35B estimate, but the stock fell 8.43% to $56.61.
Next session catalysts (ET)
- Fri 19 Jun: US equity and bond markets closed for Juneteenth. No cash session.
- Mon 22 Jun: next US cash open; the long-weekend gap will set the early tone.
- Mon 22 Jun: markets keep weighing the two-cut repricing against the Fed's one-cut projection from this week.
Context only. Not financial advice. Track your own trades with Swingfolio.