Stock market today: S&P 500, Nasdaq sink as AI trade cools off, semiconductor stocks retreat
US stocks slid on Tuesday as a sell-off in memory chipmakers on Wall Street spurred doubts about the AI trade.
The tech-exposed Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) sank roughly 2.1%, leading Wall Street down. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) lost 1.4%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI), which includes fewer tech names, fell just below the flat line.
The Nasdaq took another hammering on Tuesday after Monday saw Big Tech players take a hit as SpaceX (SPCX) notched its third day of losses in a row. Shares in Elon Musk’s space company briefly wiped out all of its post-IPO gains but then turned higher in afternoon trading, ending the day slightly in the green.
Piling on the pressure, a sell-off in memory chip giants SK Hynix (000660.KS) and Samsung Electronics (005930.KS, SSNLF) in South Korea underscored growing questions about overstretched AI valuations. Both saw their shares sink by over 12%, dragging the benchmark Kospi Composite (^KS11) stock index to a 10% loss.
The rout turns up the focus on Micron (MU) earnings due for release on Wednesday, watched for a read on how strong the demand for memory remains. Shares in the memory chipmaker dropped over 13%, after surging to a record close on Monday.
Meanwhile, ongoing peace and nuclear negotiations between the US and Iran showed signs of progress. Brent (BZ=F) and WTI (CL=F) crude futures both fell after the US issued a 60-day waiver on oil sanctions on its adversary and satellite data showed an uptick in crossings through the Strait of Hormuz.
