Dow Falls 0.3% While Memory Chip Stocks Keep the Nasdaq Afloat

U.S. markets traded mixed as the Dow fell about 0.3%, the S&P 500 slipped 0.17%, and the Nasdaq held near flat thanks to another strong day for memory-chip stocks. Geopolitical tension in the Middle East intensified after the ceasefire expired and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz nearly stopped, but that mainly lifted crude modestly and did not derail semiconductor strength. SK Hynix jumped 6.5%, Micron rose 5.9% and briefly moved back above $1,000, while Nvidia gained 0.9% on news it may finance up to $105 billion in OpenAI-related compute and data-center infrastructure. Offsetting the chip rally, Meta fell 3.3% ahead of a federal trial and Microsoft dropped 2.4% after an analyst warned AI data-center spending could pressure near-term returns. The article frames the session as a market “wall of worry” with broad weakness masked by leadership in semiconductors.