The broader market is higher with the Nasdaq leading the gains. The strength in semis is providing support to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq.

The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) is off its opening hig, but it is recovering a portion of its recent losses. This summer, the ETF had lackluster price action.

Technology (XLK) is at the top of the leaderboard with strong performance from Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), while Nvidia (NVDA) is on track to erase a seven-session losing streak. Consumer Staple (XLP) is the biggest underperformers after outperforming yesterday. Energy (XLE) is also under pressure as oil prices continue to retreat with no new geopolitical developments.

There are pockets of weakness across retailers and apparel names following Dick’s Sporting Good’s (DKS) earnings report.

All Eyes on Anthropic

Anthropic reportedly sees a $30 trillion AI opportunity, exceeding the $26.5 trillion estimated by SpaceX (SPCX), which at the time, was called the largest actionable market in human history.

Economic Data

July new home sales declined by 71k, making it the second largest MoM drop since May 2025, to 607k. Supply rose to 488k, with the months of supply rising to 9.6. This is the largest supply since January, as higher mortgage rate are spooking demand, even as builders trimmed prices and offered incentives.

August Consumer Confidence index fell to 89.4 from 90.2, missing consensus of 90.2.

• Present Situation 121.2 from 114.4 in July
• Expectations 68.2 from 74 in July

Per today’s Consumer Confidence report, consumers expect to spend less at restaurants and streaming/mobile services.