US Opening Bell | Stocks open lower; Tesla Motors slumps nearly 10% Alphabet tumbles 5%; Mixed action in chipmakers

Market

July 23, U.S. stocks opened broadly lower as investors reacted to a wave of under-whelming tech earnings and renewed rate-hike fears. The Dow Jones shed 1.2%, the S&P 500 lost 1.1% and the Nasdaq Composite dived 1.7%, pointing to a risk-off mood after futures had flashed red through the pre-market.

Among early movers, decliners dominated. Tesla Motors falls 9.8% after its margin guidance disappointed, Alphabet drops 5.3% on a weaker-than-expected ad outlook, Amazon.com slips 3.3% as cloud growth slows and Meta Platforms, Inc. retreats 2.9% as the company warned of higher AI spending. NVIDIA eases 1.6% while Advanced Micro Devices ticks down 0.7%. On the upside, Micron Technology gains 1.5% after upbeat memory-chip pricing and SK hynix adds 2.6% following a brokerage upgrade.

Broader action shows selective strength in enterprise software and memory names: ServiceNow rises 2.5%, Western Digital climbs 1.9%, SUPER MICRO COMPUTER INC adds 1.9% and ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ rallies 4.7% as traders hedge tech exposure. Conversely, Direxion Daily Semiconductors Bull 3x Shares slides 3.7% and ProShares UltraPro QQQ drops 4.7%, underscoring the defensive tilt.

News

Tesla Motors cuts FY margin forecast. The EV leader trimmed its automotive gross-margin target, citing price competition and higher battery costs, sending the stock sharply lower and weighing on sentiment across the EV space.

Alphabet warns of soft ad demand. Management disclosed slowing search and YouTube ad momentum in July, stoking concerns about digital-ad budgets and sparking a broad pullback in megacap tech.

Amazon.com flags slower AWS growth. The e-commerce giant said new AI workload spending will take time to offset decelerating legacy demand, prompting analysts to trim revenue estimates.

Meta Platforms, Inc. boosts AI capex plans. The social-media group raised 2026 capital-spending guidance to fund data-center expansion, pressuring free-cash-flow expectations and sending shares lower.

Micron Technology lifts revenue outlook. The memory maker cited improving pricing for HBM and data-center DRAM, fueling a modest rally in related semiconductor names despite the broader market slide.

NVIDIA announces next-gen GPU roadmap. At an industry conference the chip leader teased a 2-nanometer platform, but shares slipped as investors locked in gains after the recent run-up.

ServiceNow tops subscription guidance. Strong demand for workflow automation pushed billings above consensus, supporting the stock and bolstering the broader SaaS complex.

Western Digital explores NAND JV options. The company confirmed talks to restructure its Kioxia partnership, a move analysts say could unlock balance-sheet flexibility.

SK hynix wins major AI memory order. The Korean supplier landed a multiyear contract with a U.S. hyperscaler, boosting confidence in high-bandwidth memory demand.

ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ attracts inflows. The inverse ETF logged its largest three-day asset increase since March as traders hedge against further weakness in heavyweight tech indices.