The S&P 500 ended lower on Tuesday, weighed down by losses in Micron Technology and other chipmakers due to mounting doubts about the sustainability of Wall Street’s AI-driven rally. Chip stocks in ‌Asia and the ⁠United States ⁠dropped after memory chip giant Samsung Electronics’ blowout earnings report failed to satisfy investors with sky-high expectations.

Micron and Sandisk both ​fell, pulling the PHLX chip index lower. Adding to worries about high-flying chipmakers, Reuters reported that Chinese startup DeepSeek ​is developing its own AI chip, a push that could reduce its dependence on Nvidia and Huawei chips.

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 lost 34.07 points, or 0.45%, to end at 7,503.36 ​points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 310.06 points, or 1.19%, ⁠to 25,811.10. The ‌Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 140.30 points, or 0.26%, to 52,915.61.

Tuesday’s chip ​selloff marked the ​latest bout of volatility among memory chipmakers and other AI-related stocks as ⁠investors worry that sharp gains related to the buildout of AI ​data centers may have left the shares too pricey.

“The story of today ​is the story of the last few weeks, and that’s rotation after the blistering run in the AI buildout, semis and memory. Expectations have gotten to be almost impossible to beat for these companies,” said Zachary Hill, head of portfolio management at Horizon Investments in Charlotte, North Carolina. Another test of the appetite for chip stocks looms on Friday, when South Korean giant SK Hynix’s ‌U.S. listing starts trading on the Nasdaq. Elon Musk’s SpaceX fell in its first day of trading as part of the Nasdaq 100 index, and after a ​wave of brokerages initiated ​coverage on the stock.

The ⁠Dow ended lower after hitting an all-time high earlier in the session. Oil prices rose following reports of attacks on vessels near the Strait of Hormuz. Fiserv climbed after media reports that the firm ​had held discussions with U.S. banks including JPMorgan and Bank of America to sell its payments infrastructure business handling debit card transactions.
U.S. Federal Reserve watchers will get another glimpse into how new Chair Kevin Warsh steers the central bank when it releases the minutes of its latest meeting on Wednesday, the first of his tenure.

Some Social Security beneficiaries will receive two checks this July as a quirk in the calendar shifted the payment timeline for an adjacent month.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) ordinarily disburses payments for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) on the first day of a given month. The SSI program provides monthly payments to certain older adults who have little or no income, as well as to disabled individuals, which differentiates it from Social Security’s standard retirement benefits.

When the first of the month falls on a weekend or a federal holiday, SSI payments for that month are made on the last business day of the preceding month to ensure that beneficiaries have received their funds before the new month begins, and they face potential expenses.

Due to the way the 2026 calendar falls, two SSI payments will go out in July – one went out last week on July 1, while another will go out on Friday, July 31, for the month of August because Aug. 1 falls on a Saturday.

SOCIAL SECURITY RECIPIENTS COULD SEE A BIGGER COST-OF-LIVING ADJUSTMENT IN 2027 AS INFLATION RISES

The 2026 calendar will cause this dynamic to play out two more times this year for SSI payments.

Both October and December will see a pair of SSI payments go out to beneficiaries due to November 1 falling on a weekend and January 1 being a federal holiday on a Friday.

LARRY FINK CALLS FOR SOCIAL SECURITY REFORM, SAYS INVESTING A PORTION OF FUNDS COULD STRENGTHEN THE PROGRAM

SSI payments are typically made via direct deposit, though beneficiaries without bank accounts or who want to receive the funds through a different mechanism can get them on Direct Express cards.

SSA moved to discontinue paper checks at the end of the federal government’s last fiscal year in September following a Trump administration order earlier in 2025 that mandated all federal payments transition to electronic transfers, such as direct deposit to bank accounts or transfers to debit cards.

HOW SOCIAL SECURITY RECIPIENTS CAN BOOST THEIR BENEFIT CHECKS

Data from the SSA showed that as of last September, more than 68 million Americans were receiving Social Security benefits and of that figure, around 390,000 or 0.6% were receiving paper checks.

The SSA website offers methods by which beneficiaries can enroll in direct deposit through the My Social Security platform, or by phone through either the SSA or the Treasury Department’s electronic payment solution center.

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