The article highlights the recent recovery in the stock market, particularly focusing on the artificial intelligence sector. On July 21, 2026, key points include: Sandisk and Western Digital leading gains in the S&P 500, with Sandisk up 12% and Western Digital 13%. SpaceX is rebounding from a seven-day decline, rising 6.7%. Other notable stock performances include Micron gaining 12%, Intel increasing by 8.1%, and Marvell up 7.2%. Coinbase saw an 11% rise amid potential crypto regulation, while Danaher dropped 11% due to a disappointing revenue outlook. The article emphasizes that fears about cheap Chinese chatbots impacting chip spending have dissipated as major earnings reports are anticipated.

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SpaceX, Micron, Western Digital, Sandisk, Danaher, and More Stocks That Explain Today’s Market

By George Glover

and Kit Norton

Updated July 21, 2026, 2:13 pm EDT / Original July 21, 2026, 7:35 am EDT

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SPX

Traders working at the New York Stock Exchange. (Courtesy NYSE)

Key Points

About This Summary

The artificial-intelligence trade is back in gear Tuesday as Wall Street shrugged off fears that cheap Chinese chatbots would end the chip spending boom.
Sandisk and Western Digital are near the top of the S&P 500.
SpaceX is up and set to snap a seven-day losing streak.

The artificial-intelligence trade appeared to be back on Tuesday as Wall Street shrugged off fears that a slew of cheap Chinese chatbots would put an end to the chip and memory spending boom. Investors will get big earnings from Alphabet, Tesla, and International Business Machines.

Memory names Western Digital and Sandisk rose 13% and 12%, respectively, placing them near the top of the S&P 500

SPX\ \ +0.89%.

Chips and networking company Marvell added 7.2% and memory-chip maker Micron rose 12%. Chip manufacturer Intel gained 8.1%.

Applied Materials, Coherent, Corning, KLA Corp., Lam Research, Lumentum, and Seagate were also among the AI stocks making sizable advances on Tuesday.

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Coinbase Global rose 11%. A critical crypto regulation bill could be nearing the finish line as the White House reportedly agreed to at least some oversight of President Donald Trump’s crypto investments. Bitcoin prices also were up 1.4% over the past 24 hours to $66,448, according to CoinDesk.

Danaher sank 11%, making it the worst performing S&P 500 component. The life sciences and diagnostics company’s softer-than-expected core revenue outlook overshadowed solid second-quarter earnings.

SpaceX rose 6.7% to $127.84. The stock is trying to snap a seven-day losing streak. CEO Elon Musk recently took to X to assail short sellers, warning that firms that borrow SpaceX stock and bet on price declines have a low probability of surviving. Most SpaceX stock is held by early investors who are restricted from trading. More stock will become available to trade after SpaceX reports second-quarter numbers on Aug. 4.

Novartis advanced 3.2%. The Swiss pharmaceutical company returned to sales growth in the second quarter due to increased demand for some of its best-selling drugs.

General Motors added 5.2% after the auto maker reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings and raised its full-year guidance.

Halliburton fell 5.9%, placing it among the S&P 500 laggards. The oilfield services giant surpassed second-quarter earnings expectations but the company posted a substantial decline in Middle East sales as the U.S. war with Iran took its toll on business.

Write to George Glover at george.glover@dowjones.comExternal link and Kit Norton at kit.norton@barrons.comExternal link

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The Stock Market’s AI Trade Is Back With a Bang

By George Glover

Updated July 21, 2026, 9:37 am EDT / Original July 21, 2026, 6:49 am EDT

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Sandisk stock is up 486% this year, powered higher by a surge in demand for its flash memory products. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

The artificial-intelligence trade came roaring back on Tuesday, as investors piled into chip and memory stocks.

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Micron, Lumentum, Sweetgreen, AMC, Domino’s, and More Stocks That Explain Today’s Market

By George Glover

and Kit Norton

Updated July 20, 2026, 4:27 pm EDT / Original July 20, 2026, 7:32 am EDT

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Shares of chip makers Advanced Micro Devices, Intel, and Nvidia rose Monday. (NYSE)

Artificial-intelligence stocks mounted a comeback Monday as investors seem to be leaving some of their AI trade concerns behind after many names took a beating last week.

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