Fed-day selling leaves both ETFs lower before overnight strikes sharpen the energy-risk backdrop

At the 04:00 ET cutoff, QQQ fell 1.39% and SPY fell 1.14%, leaving SPY ahead by 0.25 percentage point. Most of the decline came in the regular session, while QQQ recovered 0.70 percentage point and SPY 0.40 after hours. The Fed held rates steady with three hike dissents, and its 2% inflation message kept policy in focus. Meta and Microsoft results led the technology-heavy after-hours cluster. Overnight, U.S. Central Command confirmed completed strikes on Iran, while QatarEnergy's U.S. LNG purchases showed a response to Hormuz disruption. The overnight chart segment contains carried prices, so it does not provide an observed ETF response to those updates.

QQQ: -1.39%
SPY: -1.14%
QQQ − SPY: -0.25%

What shaped the session

Fed policy split

The Fed held rates steady with three dissents favoring a hike. The split and the firm 2% inflation message kept the rate path central during the session.

Mega-cap earnings

Meta's mixed quarter and Microsoft's earnings beat arrived in a dense after-hours cluster. QQQ recovered more than SPY after hours but remained the weaker finisher.

Energy and shipping risk

U.S. sanctions targeted oil shipping and Iran-linked entities during the session. Completed U.S. strikes and QatarEnergy's LNG purchases later deepened the final window's security and supply context.

Key news

Open

QQQ

-0.17%09:31 $674.36

SPY

-0.20%09:31 $739.37

Regular close

QQQ

-2.07%16:00 $661.53

SPY

-1.53%16:00 $729.51

Full-session range

QQQ

$680.05 / $656.30High 15:03 / Low 17:51

SPY

$743.48 / $725.98High 04:01 / Low 16:01

Full-session end

QQQ

-1.39%04:00 $666.07

SPY

-1.14%04:00 $732.40

QQQ / SPY · 2026-07-29 News Curve

QQQ / SPY · 2026-07-29