AI Chipmakers Lift Wall Street as More Than 200 S&P 500 Stocks Fall

United States — AI Chipmakers Lift Wall Street as More Than 200 S&P 500 Stocks Fall

The US stock market’s gains in 2026 are masking a widening gap between a handful of leading technology companies and a substantial number of other publicly traded businesses.

The S&P 500 has climbed 14% this year, setting record highs and positioning the benchmark for its fourth consecutive annual advance. Yet an analysis of LSEG data shows that more than four in 10 companies currently included in the index have seen their share prices fall in 2026.

The contrast highlights how companies benefiting from artificial intelligence investment have increasingly shaped the market’s performance. Semiconductor manufacturers and other AI-focused businesses have attracted strong investor interest, helping push the overall index higher despite weakness across many of its constituents.

Memory-chip producers Sandisk and Micron Technology have each more than tripled in value this year. In comparison, the median stock in the S&P 500 has risen by only about 4%.

More than 200 companies in the index have posted losses in 2026, while one-quarter of its constituents have declined by at least 11%. The analysis considers companies currently in the S&P 500 and excludes 18 firms removed from the benchmark this year, including some shifted to smaller-capitalization indexes following share-price declines.

Technology and energy have led the market’s sector gains. Eight of the S&P 500’s 11 sector indexes are higher this year, with energy advancing 42% and technology gaining 32%.

However, technology’s much larger representation in the benchmark means it has added more than 10 percentage points to the S&P 500’s overall rise. Energy, despite its stronger percentage contribution relative to many sectors, has accounted for less than one percentage point of the index’s gain.

Nvidia, the world’s most valuable company, has contributed almost 2% to the benchmark’s advance this year. Apple, Micron and Advanced Micro Devices have each added more than one percentage point.

Tesla has weighed on the index instead. The company’s 15% decline in 2026 has trimmed the S&P 500’s gain by approximately 0.3 percentage point.

Rising borrowing costs have also increased pressure on companies outside the market’s leading investment themes. The Federal Reserve raised interest rates in September, while expectations of additional increases have prompted concerns about the broader economy’s resilience. Industrial firms, consumer-goods sellers and real estate companies have faced challenges amid these conditions.

Ross Mayfield, an investment strategy analyst at Baird, said businesses that are not benefiting from the AI trade or higher energy prices are confronting significant headwinds from elevated oil prices and bond yields.

Tim Ghriskey, senior portfolio strategist at Ingalls & Snyder, noted that enthusiasm for artificial intelligence was directing investment capital toward a relatively narrow group of opportunities.

Measures of market breadth further demonstrate the uneven nature of the rally. Fewer than half of the companies currently in the S&P 500 were trading above their 200-day moving averages. One week earlier, the proportion was 40%, marking its lowest level since May 2025.

The figures underscore that gains in a major stock-market benchmark do not necessarily indicate broad-based strength across its constituents. The S&P 500’s continued advance remains heavily dependent on a limited number of influential companies, while interest rates and wider economic pressures continue to pose risks for the broader market.