Stock market today July 28: chips pressure Nasdaq as Dow firms

Stock market today July 28 is starting with a split screen for investors: semiconductor weakness is weighing on the Nasdaq, while lower oil prices and bond yields are helping the Dow. CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Tuesday’s setup shows how pressure in the AI and chip trade can drag on tech even as other parts of the market get support.

Futures are contracts tied to where investors expect major indexes to trade when the market opens. CNBC reported that Nasdaq futures were down nearly 1%, while Dow futures were up almost 1%, as traders balanced chip-sector selling against relief in energy and rates.

What is moving the stock market today?

Cramer pointed first to Asia, where South Korea’s benchmark Kospi fell nearly 11% overnight. SK Hynix was down 4% in U.S. trading, according to CNBC, and that weakness was pulling other semiconductor names lower.

Oil also moved lower, which can matter for stocks because cheaper energy can ease inflation pressure and reduce the case for higher interest rates. CNBC said crude prices declined on hopes that a pause in U.S.-Iran hostilities could lead to a path away from wider conflict in the Middle East. Cramer noted that President Donald Trump had set aside plans for a “massive attack” he had threatened on Friday.

Nvidia remained in focus after Bloomberg reported that prosecutors in Taiwan detained an Nvidia employee and searched the company’s office in a probe tied to alleged illegal exports of Super Micro AI servers into China. CNBC said Nvidia shares fell nearly 5% Monday and were slightly lower again Tuesday morning.

Boeing gave investors a more complicated earnings read. CNBC said the company missed on earnings per share, a measure of profit divided by each share, partly because of a $280 million charge tied to the Air Force One program. The stronger part of the report was cash generation: Boeing posted $631 million in positive free cash flow, compared with Wall Street expectations for a $177 million cash burn, according to FactSet. Free cash flow is the cash left after a company pays for operations and capital spending. Boeing shares were up 1.5% before the open, CNBC said.

Corning shares were under pressure even after the fiber optic cable maker beat revenue and earnings expectations, according to CNBC. Cramer said current-quarter guidance appeared to be the likely reason for the selloff, and broader weakness in AI infrastructure stocks was not helping.

Johnson & Johnson rose more than 2% after agreeing to pay $5.5 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits alleging some talc products caused ovarian cancer, CNBC reported. The company said the claims were “meritless,” while also seeking to end litigation that has lasted about a decade.

Analyst calls added to the morning’s watchlist. Loop Capital initiated CrowdStrike with a buy rating and a $230 price target, which CNBC said implied nearly 28% upside from the prior close. Loop assigned Palo Alto Networks a hold rating and a $324 target.

Citi lowered its Capital One target to $295 from $310, citing a higher assumed cost of equity after last week’s earnings, according to CNBC. Citi still described the company as one of the most attractive stocks in its coverage. Citi also raised its Cadence Design Systems target to $420 from $400 after what analysts called a strong beat-and-raise quarter and continued revenue momentum through 2027.

United Parcel Service also reported better-than-expected second-quarter sales and earnings and lifted its full-year 2026 guidance, CNBC said. UPS is shifting away from lower-margin shipments toward more profitable business, a move investors may compare with FedEx as earnings season continues.

This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.