S&P 500 Falls 1.21% as Tesla Drops 14.52% and Brent Crude Closes Above US$100

S&P 500 close: 7,408.30 (-1.21%) Breadth: 99 advancers / 149 decliners among the 249 largest index names Sentiment: bearish

The S&P 500 closed at 7,408.30 on 23 July 2026, down 1.21%, as capital-spending plans from Alphabet and Tesla sent Consumer Discretionary down 4.61% and Communication Services down 3.50%. TSLA.US fell 14.52% to $319.69 after second-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.33 a share missed the $0.55 consensus and operating profit fell to US$398 million from US$923 million a year earlier. Brent crude closed at US$100.55, up 6.89%, after Houthi forces claimed attacks on two Saudi tankers in the Red Sea, pushing the US 10-year yield to 4.70%.

What moved the index

• Consumer Discretionary fell 4.61%, worth roughly 51 basis points of the 121 basis point index decline on an 11% weight. TSLA.US -14.52% and AMZN.US -4.57% supplied most of it, both on capital-spending plans.
• Communication Services fell 3.50% on a 10% weight, another 35 basis points. GOOGL.US -7.13% carried it after quarterly capital expenditure doubled to US$44.9 billion, with TMUS.US -10.75%, CMCSA.US -6.80% and META.US -3.36% behind.
• Technology fell 1.01%, roughly 34 basis points on a 34% weight. STM.US -18.67%, ORCL.US -4.61%, NOW.US -3.69%, TXN.US -3.13% and MSFT.US -2.24% led the decline. MU.US +3.20% held out as memory pricing stayed firm.
• Industrials +1.73% and Health Care +1.26% returned roughly 25 basis points. LMT.US +10.54%, URI.US +10.11%, RTX.US +7.33%, CSX.US +5.77%, NSC.US +5.32% and HON.US +5.70% cleared second-quarter estimates, alongside TMO.US +8.71%, DGX.US +8.61% and DHR.US +7.46%.

Together these account for about 95 of the 121 basis points. Consumer Staples -1.39% (about 7 basis points) and Financials -0.39% (about 5 basis points) supply most of the remainder. Breadth ran 99 advancers to 149 decliners.

Session highlights

• TSLA.US -14.52% to $319.69, its lowest close in almost a year. Revenue rose 26% to US$28.24 billion and deliveries reached a record 480,126 vehicles, the first annual growth in two years, while adjusted EPS of $0.33 missed the $0.55 forecast and free cash flow turned negative.
• GOOGL.US -7.13% to $317.69 even after revenue of US$119.8 billion and EPS of $9.11 beat forecasts, with Google Cloud revenue up 82%. Quarterly capital expenditure doubled to US$44.9 billion against a 2026 plan of as much as US$205 billion.
• Brent crude +6.89% to US$100.55 and WTI +6.37% to US$92.36, after Houthi forces claimed attacks on two Saudi tankers in the Red Sea and US Central Command confirmed further strikes on Iran. Saudi Arabia has redirected exports to the Red Sea port of Yanbu.
• Initial jobless claims fell to 187,000, the lowest reading since 1969, against a 210,000 forecast and 209,000 prior.
• VIX +12.38% to 18.70, the US 10-year yield at 4.70% and the Dollar Index at 101.44 (+0.31%). Fed futures moved to price a 36% chance of a rate increase at the 29 July meeting.

Sector scorecard

• Best: Industrials (+1.73%)
• Worst: Consumer Discretionary (-4.61%)
• Dispersion (best minus worst): 6.34 points
• Energy added only 0.30% despite the 6.89% Brent move. Airlines absorbed the fuel cost, with AAL.US -8.35% after warning that higher fuel prices could pressure third-quarter results and LUV.US -6.19% on a softer third-quarter outlook.

Top movers

After-hours earnings

INTC.US closed the regular session at $100.23, down 2.33%, then traded 8.15% higher at $108.40 after the bell, according to Benzinga Pro. Intel reported second-quarter revenue of US$16.13 billion against a US$14.42 billion estimate, up 25% year over year and the company's strongest revenue growth in more than fifteen years. Data Center and AI revenue rose 59% to US$6.3 billion, Intel Foundry rose 31% to US$5.8 billion, and Client Computing and Physical AI rose 13% to US$8.9 billion. Chief Executive Lip-Bu Tan attributed the quarter to AI demand for compute.

AMD.US closed down 2.29% at $539.69 and traded 2.81% higher at $554.85 after the Intel print, according to Benzinga Pro. SAP and Newmont were also scheduled to report after the close.

Notable announcements

• URI.US +10.11% on record second-quarter adjusted EPS of $12.76 against a $11.44 consensus, with full-year revenue guidance raised to US$17.65 billion.
• ALLE.US +10.45% on adjusted EPS of $2.40, an 8.3% beat, revenue growth of 12.7% and a raised outlook.
• MOH.US -9.67% as full-year revenue guidance near US$42 billion landed about 5% below estimates, offsetting a second-quarter beat.
• TMUS.US -10.75% despite 277,000 net postpaid additions against 268,300 expected and core adjusted EBITDA up 12% to US$9.5 billion. Revenue missed and management guided third-quarter subscriber growth lower.
• MBLY.US -14.92% after adjusted EPS of $0.19 beat the $0.06 consensus and full-year adjusted operating income guidance rose to a US$395 million midpoint from US$210 million. US$93 million of the quarter's operating income came from a new Israeli R&D incentive, and SuperVision shipments are set to fall in the second half.

Next session catalysts (ET)

• Fri 24 Jul, 9:30am: Cash open, with Intel's 8.15% after-hours move the first test for semiconductors
• Fri 24 Jul: Building permits, S&P Global flash PMI readings and June new home sales
• Wed 29 Jul: FOMC decision, with futures pricing a 36% chance of a rate increase
• Brent enters Friday at US$100.55 and the US 10-year at 4.70%, the highest yield of the year

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