Chipmaker Stocks Sink On ASML Earnings Leak, Oil Eyes Worst 1-Day Drop This Year, Small Caps Rally: What's Driving Markets Tuesday?

Benzinga · 10/15 17:37

A wave of market-relevant news fueled an active trading session on Wall Street Tuesday, with large-cap indices falling due to sharp declines in tech and energy stocks, while small-caps outperformed, led by gains in regional banks.

At the forefront of the headlines is the massive plunge in ASML Holding NV (NASDAQ:ASML) shares. The Dutch chipmaker’s stock nosedived over 16% after a technical error prematurely revealed its third-quarter earnings, originally scheduled for Wednesday, on the company’s website.

The report disclosed weaker-than-expected guidance for 2025, leading to the worst single-day drop in ASML stock since it went public in 2002.

ASML’s collapse sent shockwaves across the semiconductor sector, with the iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX) falling more than 4%, marking its worst performance since early September. Key semiconductor players were hit hard, with NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) down 5% and Arm Holdings PLC-ADR (NASDAQ:ARM) tumbling 7%.

Another underperforming sector was energy. Oil prices plunged 5%, setting up their worst trading day in over a year.

The sell-off followed a Monday’s report from The Washington Post, which revealed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assured the Biden administration Israel would refrain from targeting Iranian oil and nuclear facilities in any retaliatory military actions.

Meanwhile, the financial sector surged, extending its all-time highs as Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC), Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS), and Charles Schwab Corp. (NYSE:SCHW) all posted stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings.

Gains also spread to more economically sensitive regional banks, with the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (NYSE:KRE) jumping over 3%, lifting the broader Russell 2000 index by 1%.

In other markets, both the U.S. dollar and Treasury yields remained steady, as there were no major updates on interest-rate expectations. Gold edged up by 0.6%, while Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) continued its recent momentum, climbing 1.3% after a 5.1% surge on Monday.

Tuesday’s Performance In Major U.S. Indices, ETFs

Major Indices Price Chg (1-day) %
Russell 2000 2,272.05 1.0%
Dow Jones 42,942.79 -0.3%
S&P 500 5,842.20 -0.3%
Nasdaq 100 20,221.22 -1.1%
Updated at 12:45 p.m. ET

According to Benzinga Pro data:

  • The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) fell 0.4% to $581.82.
  • The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) inched 0.3% down to $429.46.
  • The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series (NASDAQ:QQQ) fell 1.1% to $491.72.
  • The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) rose 1% to $222.52.
  • The Financials Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLF) outperformed, up 1%. The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLE) lagged, down 2.3%.

Tuesday’s Stock Movers

  • Airlines and cruise lines rallied in reaction to lower oil prices. American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL) rose 2.2%, United Airlines Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) gained 2.2%. Carnival Corp. (NYSE:CCL) and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NCLH) rallied 7.7% and 5.5%, respectively.
  • Charles Schwab rose 7.5% after reporting stronger-than-expected quarterly results.
  • Other stocks reacting to earnings were UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH), down 7.4%; Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), up 1.8%; Bank of America Corp., up 1.9%; Goldman Sachs Group Inc., down 0.3%; Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C), down 4%; PNC Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE:PNC), up 4%; State Street Corp. (NYSE:STT), up 0.6% and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA), up 13%
  • Companies slated to report earnings after the close include Interactive Brokers Group Inc. (NASDAQ:IBKR), United Arlines Holdings Inc., Omnicon Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC) and J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT).

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