Tech sell-off and weak retail data cool Wall Street momentum

The S&P 500 information technology index slipped 0.5%, with Broadcom and Applied Materials bearing the brunt of the sell-off, shedding 5.5% and 5.2% respectively. Investors reacted sharply to cooling consumer demand, which dampened sentiment that had otherwise been buoyed by institutional optimism earlier in the week.

Not every corner of the market faltered. Energy stocks climbed 1.5% as oil prices ticked upward, and data storage firms Western Digital and Sandisk managed to buck the broader trend. Reddit shares provided a notable outlier, surging over 12% following the announcement that the platform will join the S&P 500 index. Analysts continue to weigh these disparate economic signals against the backdrop of regional instability, monitoring consumer sentiment surveys for further signs of volatility.