Nasdaq notches a second straight record close as chip names lead and the S&P 500 stays flat

SentiSense · Published Sep 22, 2026, 9:44 AM ET · Updated Sep 23, 2026, 8:08 AM ET

The Nasdaq Composite closed at about 27,243 on Tuesday, up 0.45%, its second consecutive record close. The gain was narrow: the S&P 500 finished essentially flat at 7,764.64, still below its own August 13 record, and the Dow fell 0.36%. Memory and chip names led, with Micron up 5% and SanDisk up 7%, while oil eased and the 10-year yield slipped to about 4.94%.

The Nasdaq Composite closed at roughly 27,243 on Tuesday, up 0.45%, its second consecutive record close. The breadth behind it was thin. The S&P 500 finished essentially flat at 7,764.64 and remains below its own August 13 record close, and the Dow fell 0.36% to about 51,864. Read as an index story, this was one benchmark setting a record while the other two did not participate.

The leadership was specific rather than general. Memory and chip names carried the session, with MU up 5% and SanDisk up 7%, alongside Monolithic Power Systems up 8.1% and Shopify up 7.1%. NVDA added only 0.7%, and META was flat to slightly lower; Meta's outsized 11% move belonged to the prior session, not this one. Anyone reading the record close as the AI megacaps surging has the wrong day.

The macro backdrop stayed supportive. The 10-year Treasury yield eased to about 4.94% from 4.972% the prior session, and crude was little changed near $100 Brent after falling more than 3% on Monday. The larger move was Monday's, when the Nasdaq rose 2.26% to 27,122.09, the S&P 500 gained 1.49% and WTI dropped 4.8%. Tuesday was follow-through, not a repeat.

What to watch from here is whether the rally broadens beyond memory and power-management names or keeps narrowing. A record set on a 0.45% move with the S&P flat and the Dow down is a thinner foundation than a record set on broad participation, and the same chip complex driving it reports into a heavy earnings stretch.