US Markets Close 27 July 2026: S&P 500 Flat as Software Offsets a 5% Nvidia Fall
S&P 500 close: 7,413.18 (+0.02%) Breadth: NYSE advancers led decliners 1.32 to 1; Nasdaq decliners led 1.25 to 1 Sentiment: mixed
The S&P 500 closed at 7,413.18 on 27 July 2026, up 1.20 points or 0.02%, as a 3.33% rally across software cancelled a 4.99% fall in NVDA.US. NVDA.US ended at $196.51 after reports it may backstop $250 billion of OpenAI financing revived questions about chip suppliers funding their own customers. Brent crude fell 9.40% to US$87.68 after the US paused air strikes on Iran over the weekend, and energy finished the weakest sector.
What moved the index
- NVDA.US on its own: -4.99% to $196.51, worth about -37 bps at roughly 7.5% index weight. Reports of a $250 billion OpenAI financing backstop revived circular-financing concerns, and Apple reclaimed the largest market capitalisation.
- Software names: IGV +3.33%, with CRM.US +6.07%, NOW.US +6.86%, PLTR.US +7.00%, ADBE.US +5.62% and ORCL.US +4.27%, worth about +31 bps once MSFT.US +1.94% is included. Capital moved out of AI hardware and into the companies that buy it.
- Energy: XLE -2.11%, worth about -6 bps at roughly 3% weight. Brent fell 9.40% to US$87.68 and WTI 8.29% to $81.91 once the strike pause raised the prospect of Strait of Hormuz shipping resuming.
- The rest of the index: the equal-weight S&P 500 rose 0.75% against the cap-weighted 0.02%, worth about +14 bps of breadth-driven lift.
Together these account for roughly +2 bps against the +1.6 bps the index moved. Software and Nvidia came within 6 bps of cancelling each other. That is why the headline reads flat.
Session highlights
- 7,471.28 was the S&P 500 open and 7,385.13 the intraday low, before the index closed at 7,413.18. The Iran de-escalation gap faded inside the first hour, then buyers took the index back through the afternoon.
- SNDK.US traded +2.73% before the bell and closed -11.02%, a 13.75 percentage point swing. AMD.US turned from +2.19% pre-market to -5.17%. The chip bounce that set up the open reversed in full.
- RSP +0.75% against SPY +0.02% put the gap between the average stock and the cap-weighted index at 73 bps in a single session.
- SMH -2.25%, with LRCX.US -4.46%, TER.US -4.33%, AMAT.US -3.61% and KLAC.US -3.40%. Equipment makers fell harder than the broad chip group.
- US 10-year at 4.641%, down 3.8 bps, and the dollar index at 101.505, up 0.04%.
- IWM +0.60% and the Russell 2000 at 2,948.03, outpacing the Nasdaq by 79 bps.
Sector scorecard
- Best: Consumer Staples XLP +1.46%
- Worst: Energy XLE -2.11%
- Dispersion (best minus worst): 3.57 pts
- Technology XLK fell 0.90%, and the split inside it was the day's widest: large software names rose 4% to 11% while NVDA.US, AMD.US and the equipment group fell 3% to 5%.
Top movers
| Ticker | Move | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| BMNR.US | +13.49% | Added 9,946 ether last week to 5.79m tokens, repurchased 6.1m shares |
| RHI.US | +12.61% | Extending its run since the 23 July second-quarter report |
| W.US | +12.30% | Analyst price-target lifts into the 4 August quarterly print |
| DJT.US | +11.68% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven. |
| SHOP.US | +11.54% | Software rotation; TEAM.US +10.35% and WDAY.US +9.01% alongside |
| LEGN.US | -13.28% | UBS cut to Neutral, target $28 from $49, on Carvykti growth |
| SNDK.US | -11.02% | Memory selling; SKHY.US -7.47% and KXIAY.US -7.59% |
| VG.US | -10.41% | Brent 9.40% lower hit LNG and energy producers |
| SIMO.US | -9.76% | Memory-controller exposure to the same selling |
| ICHR.US | -9.53% | Chip equipment supplier; UCTT.US -6.23% alongside |
After-hours earnings
CDNS.US posted second-quarter revenue of $1.584 billion after the close on 27 July 2026, above the $1.577 billion consensus, with adjusted earnings of $2.11 per share against $2.06 expected. Revenue rose about 24% year on year, backlog reached a record $8.1 billion, and management lifted full-year guidance to about $6.3 billion of revenue and $8.10 adjusted earnings per share at the midpoint. The shares traded at $352.25 after the bell, up 4.03%, having closed the regular session at $338.61 for a 3.79% gain. The same split ran through the cash session: design software up, equipment makers down 3% to 5%.
Notable announcements
- LEGN.US chief executive Ying Huang stepped down from the role and the board effective 24 July, landing alongside the UBS downgrade.
- W.US ran a five-day discount event from 23 to 27 July, ahead of its 4 August quarterly report.
- CDNS.US raised full-year adjusted earnings guidance 2.5% to $8.10 per share at the midpoint.
- ON.US +2.57%, CDNS.US +3.79% and AVGO.US +0.34% finished higher while the rest of the chip group fell.
Next session catalysts (ET)
- Tue 28 Jul: FOMC meeting begins. Rates are expected to hold at 3.50% to 3.75%.
- Tue 28 Jul: META.US reports, the first of the week's largest technology names.
- Tue 28 Jul: WM.US and NXPI.US report.
- Wed 29 Jul, 2:00pm: FOMC decision, with the Chair's press conference at 2:30pm.
- Thu 30 Jul: first estimate of second-quarter GDP, plus the PCE inflation gauge.
- Thu 30 Jul: AAPL.US and AMZN.US report on the published calendar.
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