Wall Street ends lower as investors weigh data, Middle East tensions

VIDEO SHOWS: n/a STORY: U.S. stocks ended lower on Friday, with the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq each down less than three-tenths of a percent. The S&P 500 dropped marginally a day after its record high close. Shares of chipmakers dropped, with investors nervous about high valuations of AI-related stocks. Broadcom shed about 6%, while shares of Intel lost 2%. The declines come despite a sharp August rebound for semiconductors. But Brad Conger, chief investment officer at Hirtle & Co., remains cautious on the sector. "On the semiconductors, what we're seeing is a very supply constrained market where gross margins are now in the mid-80s, which is extraordinary. It's something we've never seen before for these companies. And it really just shows you how severe the supply shortages are in that market. The market seems to be very comfortable that supply shortage is going to persist and that those margins are going to maintain. I think, again, that's a very fragile equilibrium that, in other words, one announcement about a CapEx plan or a new entrant to the market like we saw with this Chinese chip maker called CXMT can really throw the narrative to the other side." Among other AI-related stocks, Applied Materials shed about 5% after the company's upbeat quarterly forecast failed to impress investors. The chip equipment maker's shares have doubled in 2026 due to strong demand related to the buildout of AI data centers. Elsewhere in the market, shares of Reddit surged almost 13% after the social media company was named a new addition to the S&P 500 index, effective August 18. And shares of Workday dipped nearly 4%. This comes a day after they soared 18% as Reuters reported that private equity firm Silver Lake was in talks to acquire the software firm. :: Archive Meanwhile, transit through the Strait of Hormuz appeared at a near standstill after two more ships were attacked, adding to pessimism about a peace deal with Iran. Oil prices rose more than one dollar a barrel. And economic data on Friday showed retail sales in July fell for the first time in nine months, and consumer sentiment slumped in early August amid worries about the rising cost of living.