Chip Stocks Drag Nasdaq Down 1.5% as SK Hynix Tumbles on US Debut
Chip stocks led Wall Street lower Monday, with the Nasdaq off 1.5% after South Korea's KOSPI fell nearly 9% and SK Hynix's US-listed shares tumbled.
Semiconductor stocks pulled Wall Street lower to start the week. On Monday, July 13, the Nasdaq closed 1.5% down, the S&P 500 slid 0.8%, and the Dow gave up 138 points, or 0.3%, according to Barron's.
The damage was concentrated. The PHLX Semiconductor Index dropped 4.8%, while the ProShares S&P 500 Ex-Technology ETF finished the day flat. Strip out chips and the broader market barely moved, a split that tells you where the selling was.
South Korea set the tone
US trading followed a rout in Seoul. The KOSPI ended nearly 9% lower, one of its worst single-session declines, and the weakness carried into names with US listings. SK Hynix, which had just made its US trading debut, saw its American Depository Receipts fall after a historic intraday drop on the South Korean market.
Memory-chip makers took the hardest hit. That matters because the group had been among the top performers year-to-date, so Monday's slide erased some of the best gains of the year rather than trimming laggards.
The macro backdrop
Two pressures overlapped. US-Iran tensions flared again, and this time crude prices reacted. Brent, the international benchmark, settled above $83 a barrel, feeding concerns that higher energy costs could keep inflation sticky.
Treasury yields moved up as the Middle East situation clouded the outlook, adding another headwind for equity valuations that lean heavily on rate expectations.
What it signals
Monday's session read less like a broad risk-off move and more like a repricing of a crowded trade. The AI and memory names that led the market for months absorbed the bulk of the losses, while non-tech sectors held steady.
The week ahead carries its own tests. Big bank earnings and fresh inflation data are on the calendar, and expectations for corporate results have been running high. That combination leaves little room for disappointment in a market already jittery about chips and oil.
