AI stocks spent months defying gravity... then Newton’s laws prevailed. The sector plunged across Wall Street, Seoul, and Frankfurt last week after Broadcom posted “strong results” but disappointing guidance — crystallizing concerns that AI stocks had run too hot. That gap spooked semiconductor investors, and by the time markets opened, chips were down on three continents.
- Korea’s Kospi bore the brunt as Samsung and SK Hynix fell sharply — joined by Tokyo Electron amid a sell-off that swept across Asia.
- European chip stocks absorbed the aftershock, with ASML and Infineon declining steeply — pulling the Stoxx 600 technology index lower on the session.
Reset, not retreat: The US damage extended beyond chips. The S&P 500 tracked toward its first weekly loss in ten weeks, with the Nasdaq leading declines and investors rotating into defensive sectors. A stronger-than-expected jobs report compounded the pressure, pushing rate hike expectations firmly into year-end. Strategists at Ortus Advisors pushed back on the bearish view, framing the sell-off as a long-overdue correction after months of AI-driven gains. The session proved a timely reminder that despite whatever r/WallStreetBets tells you, stocks don’t always go up.
