Stock Market Update Thursday April 23, 2026
- Apr 23
- 2 min read
Stock Market Update Thursday April 23, 2026 Stocks closed lower today as markets digested a mix of Iran-related geopolitical headlines and a fresh wave of earnings releases. Within technology, software names were the clear laggards after ServiceNow plunged 18% following its quarterly report, dragging the IGV software ETF down nearly 6%. In contrast, semiconductor shares outperformed, led by Texas Instruments’ 19% post-earnings rally. This widening dispersion in sector performance is likely to become more pronounced as the earnings calendar accelerates next week. The software complex faced heavy selling pressure, with IGV sliding roughly 6%, pressured by ServiceNow’s sharp decline as well as notable weakness in Salesforce (-9%) and Microsoft (-4%). Even after today’s drawdown, IGV remains approximately 12% above its recent troughs. Conversely, chipmakers provided an important offset within the broader technology space, as the SMH semiconductor ETF advanced about 1%, fueled primarily by Texas Instruments’ outsized earnings-driven gain. That relative strength helped limit downside across the Nasdaq and broader tech benchmarks. Outside of tech, industrials posted solid relative performance, while financials lagged. In after-hours trading, Intel surged 15% following its earnings release.
Away From Stocks: Treasurys came under moderate pressure, with the 2-year and 30-year yields rising four and two basis points, respectively, to 3.83% and 4.92%. WTI crude oil climbed 4% to $97 per barrel. Gold retreated to $4,690 per ounce, bitcoin slipped below $78,000, and the VIX closed near 19.
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