The S&P 500 is heading for its first July decline since 2014, following a volatile month with contrasting earnings results between Microsoft and Apple. Semiconductor stocks suffered their worst month in 24 years, with the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX), which holds 30 chip makers, falling 20.7% in July. If this decline holds, it would be the worst monthly performance for SOXX since December 2002, when it tumbled 23.3%. A 10% surge over the last two days of the month was not enough to offset the broader downward trend. Despite this monthly setback, SOXX was still up 68.9% year-to-date.
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