The Nasdaq Composite — a stock market index heavy on technology companies — closed at 25,652.55 on July 20, 2026, up 132.31 points or 0.52%. The S&P 500, a broader index of 500 large companies, finished at 7,474.44, up 16.75 points or 0.22% (Reuters). The small gain came after a turbulent week in which semiconductor (computer chip) stocks and excitement around artificial intelligence caused big swings during the day, and oil prices jumped on rising global tensions.

The damage from a few days earlier was still fresh. On July 17, the Nasdaq fell 361.70 points, or 1.40%, to 25,520, during a global sell-off of chip stocks as investors cut back on bets tied to AI (Reuters). That same day, crude oil gained more than 3%, leading all commodities higher (Nasdaq/Dorsey Wright). The split — investors fleeing chip stocks while buying oil — has been a repeating pattern through July.

The July 17 drop built on doubts that had been piling up for weeks. On July 7, the Nasdaq ended sharply lower as investors questioned whether the stock market's AI-driven rally could last (Reuters). The sell-off came despite what should have been good news for chip investors. The market's refusal to rally on positive earnings signaled that investors were losing interest in adding more AI exposure. The next day, July 8, Brent crude (a key oil price benchmark) settled at $78.02 per barrel and WTI at $73.52, both multi-week highs, as tensions involving Iran raised concerns about oil supply (Reuters).

Between those two rough patches, the market bounced back twice. On July 6, the Nasdaq closed up 1.12% and the Dow rose 0.29%, lifted by a rally in Broadcom, a major chip company (Reuters). As of that session, the S&P 500 was up approximately 10% for the year and sat about 1% below its record high. On July 9, the Nasdaq surged 1.30% to 26,206 as a rebound in chip stocks offset worries about Iran (Reuters). The same day, oil futures settled lower on hopes for new diplomatic talks, easing early gains despite U.S.-Iran strikes and Russian export curbs (WSJ).

Think of the market this month as a tug-of-war. On one side, investors are losing confidence in the high prices attached to AI companies. On the other, oil supply keeps getting threatened by geopolitical conflict. Each side has pulled the Nasdaq by 1% or more within days of each other.

These patterns showed up earlier in 2026 as well. On June 24, the Nasdaq fell after giving up early gains as oil prices dropped toward prewar levels, while industrial and consumer stocks did better and tech lagged (WSJ; WSJ). On June 8, the Nasdaq closed up 0.9% and the S&P 500 rose about 0.3% after a selloff the day before (WSJ). On December 17, 2025, a similar tech-driven Nasdaq slide happened alongside rising oil and a Dow giving up early gains (WSJ).

The July 20 close left the Nasdaq roughly 2.1% below its July 9 level and still below the 26,000 mark. For the S&P 500, the 0.22% gain on July 20 barely made a dent in the prior week's losses, and the index remained about 1% off its record high as last measured on July 6.

Before the market opened on July 20, earnings reports came in from Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY), Domino's Pizza (DPZ), and AMC Entertainment (AMC) (Nasdaq), giving investors new corporate results to weigh against the bigger economic picture.

The broader context here is that most of the Nasdaq's July volatility has been driven by how investors feel about semiconductor stocks. The index has moved 1% or more in five sessions between July 6 and July 17, bouncing back and forth between chip-led rallies and chip-led selloffs. Oil has been a secondary but constant factor throughout. The July 20 gain of 0.52% is on the calmer end of what we have seen this month, which may suggest that traders are simply worn out from all the back-and-forth rather than that the market has picked a clear direction. With oil prices having hit multi-week highs on Iran concerns just two weeks ago, then retreated on diplomatic hopes, then climbed again, crude remains an unpredictable force for stock investors. Neither the question of whether AI stock prices are justified, nor the question of whether oil supply will be disrupted, has been answered. Both are live issues heading into late July.