S&P 500 Falls 0.79% on July 13, 2026 as a Chip Selloff Tops an Oil-Driven Energy Rally
S&P 500 close: 7,515.34 (-0.79%) Breadth: Technology -2.42%, Energy +3.01%; VIX +14.17% to 17.16 Sentiment: bearish
The S&P 500 closed at 7,515.34 on July 13, 2026, down 0.79%, as a 2.42% drop in technology outweighed a 3.01% gain in energy. Semiconductors led the decline after SK Hynix reversed more than 9% following Friday's Nasdaq debut, dragging SanDisk SNDK.US down 12.63% and Marvell MRVL.US 7.75%. Crude rose about 9% (WTI to $78.00) after renewed US-Iran strikes near the Strait of Hormuz, and the VIX rose 14.17% to 17.16.
What moved the index
Technology is roughly 32% of the S&P 500, so its 2.42% drop subtracted about 77 basis points, close to the full 79 bp index move. Semiconductors were the epicenter: the SMH chip ETF fell 4.16% and SOXX 4.77%, after SK Hynix reversed more than 9% following Friday's Nasdaq listing.
- Technology -2.42%: about -77 bps of the move; NVDA.US -3.52% and AVGO.US -3.98% were the two largest single-name drags as the AI-hardware trade unwound.
- Energy +3.01%: about +11 bps, the only sector with a meaningful gain, as WTI rose 9.23% to $78.00 and Brent 9.43% to $83.18 on the US-Iran escalation near the Strait of Hormuz.
- Defensives +0.5% to +0.7%: Financials +0.65%, Utilities +0.68%, Staples +0.56% and Real Estate +0.56% added roughly +18 bps as capital moved toward lower-beta sectors.
Together these account for most of the 79 bp decline. The residual is broad-based selling, reflected in the Russell 2000's 0.83% fall and the 14.17% rise in the VIX to 17.16.
Session highlights
The Dow fell 0.26%, the S&P 500 0.79% and the Nasdaq 1.55%: the more technology-heavy the index, the steeper the loss, with the energy-heavy Dow cushioned by crude producers.
- ORCL.US dropped 6.47% to a fresh 52-week low near $132, down about 28% over the past month after S&P Global flagged OpenAI-concentration and free-cash-flow concerns.
- APP.US fell 12.65% and ALAB.US 12.33% on no company-specific news, as high-multiple AI and adtech names fell alongside the chips.
- CRM.US rose 4.84%, INTU.US 5.38% and NOW.US 3.30% as capital rotated out of AI-hardware into profitable application software, with no single-name catalyst.
- INTC.US -6.12%, LRCX.US -5.83% and WDC.US -4.64% extended the memory and equipment selloff that SK Hynix set off.
Sector scorecard
Energy (XLE) +3.01% was the only sector with a meaningful gain; Technology (XLK) -2.42% was the weakest, with semiconductors (SMH -4.16%, SOXX -4.77%) the softest sub-industry.
- Best: Energy (XLE) +3.01%
- Worst: Technology (XLK) -2.42%
- Dispersion (best minus worst): 5.43 points
- Every green sector was defensive or energy: Utilities +0.68%, Financials +0.65%, Staples +0.56%, Real Estate +0.56%, Health Care +0.35%; Consumer Discretionary -1.02% and Industrials -0.85% led the cyclical side lower.
Top movers
| Ticker | Move | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| EQNR.US | +6.31% | Oil major lifted by the 9% crude spike |
| INTU.US | +5.38% | Software bid as capital rotated from chips; no single-name news |
| VLO.US | +5.38% | Refiner gained with crude and refining margins |
| PSX.US | +5.27% | Refiner rose with the other energy names |
| CRM.US | +4.84% | Enterprise software firm against the hardware selloff |
| APP.US | -12.65% | No company news; high-multiple AI and adtech fell |
| SNDK.US | -12.63% | Memory maker fell as SK Hynix's post-debut reversal hit storage |
| ALAB.US | -12.33% | AI-connectivity name dropped with the chip selloff |
| MRVL.US | -7.75% | Data-center chipmaker sold on the AI-valuation reset |
| ARM.US | -7.55% | Chip-design licensor fell with the other chipmakers |
After the close and next-session catalysts (ET)
No major US company reported after Monday's bell; the Q2 earnings season opens Tuesday, July 14 before the open.
- Tue 8:30am ET June CPI: the week's key inflation print, arriving as the oil spike raises fresh cost pressure.
- Tue pre-market Q2 bank earnings begin: JPMorgan JPM.US, Goldman Sachs GS.US, Citigroup C.US, Wells Fargo WFC.US and Bank of America BAC.US.
- Ongoing US-Iran: crude and the VIX will track any further Strait of Hormuz headlines; shipping data showed only six vessels transited the strait on July 12.
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