Key Takeaways
- The S&P 500 slid 0.6% on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025, as tech losses weighed on the index.
- Palantir shares plunged as a well-known short seller expressed concerns about the stock’s elevated valuation.
- Intel stock surged as SoftBank announced a major investment in the chipmaker.
Major U.S. equities indexes were mixed Tuesday as tech sector losses weighed on their performance. The S&P 500 ended the session 0.6% lower, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 1.5%. The Dow held onto a fractional gain.
Shares of analytics software provider Palantir Technologies (PLTR) tumbled over 9%, falling the most of any S&P 500 stock. The slide marked the fifth consecutive day of losses for the stock, which was sitting at record-high levels just a week ago after a strong earnings report. The latest move lower came after short seller Andrew Left of Citron Research expressed concerns about the stock’s valuation, suggesting its price has become disconnected from the company’s fundamentals.
The price of Bitcoin (BTCUSD) and other major cryptocurrencies moved lower, extending declines posted over the past week. Shares of Coinbase Global (COIN), operator of the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, sank 5.8%.
Shares of enterprise software provider Oracle (ORCL) also lost 5.8% Tuesday. The company is in the midst of a reorganization and has been cutting jobs, particularly in its cloud infrastructure division as it aims to focus more resources on AI, according to reports last week. Yesterday, Bloomberg reported Mary Ann Davidson, the company’s long-serving chief security officer, would be stepping down from her role.
Intel (INTC) shares soared nearly 7%, logging the top performance in the S&P 500 Tuesday. The latest push higher for the struggling chipmaker’s stock followed the announcement of a $2 billion investment by Japan’s SoftBank Group (SFTBY). Masayoshi Son, CEO of SoftBank, said the move reflects the firm’s anticipation of an expansion in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing, and comes amid speculation the Trump administration is evaluating taking a stake in the struggling chipmaker.
Shares of Prologis (PLD), a real estate investment trust focused on warehouses, data centers, and other industrial properties, jumped 5%. Analysts at Mizuho upgraded Prologis to “outperform” from “neutral” and raised their price target, citing a more favorable view on the industrial REIT subsector. Mizuho suggested Prologis could be positioned to benefit from potential interest-rate cuts, as well as growth following the recently passed tax and spending bill.
Palo Alto Networks (PANW) shares added just over 3% after the cybersecurity firm reported quarterly earnings that topped analysts’ forecasts. The company’s outlook for fiscal 2026 also exceeded consensus estimates. Analysts said the strong quarter demonstrated Palo Alto’s success in the implementation of its platformization strategy, positioning itself as a one-stop shop for clients by offering multiple cybersecurity products on a single platform.
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