A deepening sell-off in chip and memory stocks dragged all four major U.S. equity indexes lower by midday Tuesday.
Money rotated defensively, with health care, real estate and utilities the only sectors firmly higher, while industrials and technology lagged.
The S&P 500 eased about 0.3% to 7,513, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.3% to 52,890, surrendering an earlier record-territory push.
The Nasdaq 100 fell about 1.6% to 29,237 as a memory-chip rout swept the sector.
The chip sell-off started overnight with Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (SSNLF), which fell nearly 7% even after posting record earnings as guidance only met lofty expectations instead of beating them.
The small-cap Russell 2000 eased about 0.4% to 2,996.
A projectile strike on an LNG carrier exiting the Strait of Hormuz sent crude higher, underscoring how quickly Middle East risk can flip the narrative. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2.7% to about $70.41 a barrel, while Brent climbed 2.9% to roughly $74.08.
Gold slipped about 0.5% to roughly $4,143 an ounce.
Tuesday's Performance In Major U.S. Indices
According to market data:
- The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) slipped 0.3%.
- The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) fell 0.3%.
- The Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) dropped 1.6%.
- The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) eased 0.4%.
Health Care Leads as Industrials and Chips Buckle
Defensives topped the leaderboard as investors sought shelter.
The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) gained about 1.6%, matched by the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLRE), while the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLU) rose 1.3%.
The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) added 1.1% with crude. On the other side, the Industrials Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLI) was the worst performer, down 2.2%, followed closely by the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK), off 1.9%.
At the industry level, rate-sensitive clean-energy names were the day's biggest casualties as yields climbed: the Invesco WilderHill Clean Energy ETF (PBW) sank 5.7% and the Invesco Solar ETF (TAN) dropped 4.9%.
The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) fell 3.9% on the memory rout, while softer metals dragged the SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF (XME) down 3.6% and the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX) off 2.8%.
The memory complex bore the brunt of the selling after Samsung's blowout quarterly profit sparked skepticism over AI-chip margins and supply-glut risk.
Micron Technology, Inc. (MU) fell 6.5%, Sandisk Corporation (SNDK) dropped about 10% and Western Digital Corporation (WDC) slid 8.6%.
The pain spread across semi equipment and infrastructure, with Intel Corporation (INTC) down 9.6%, Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) off 9.6%, Marvell Technology, Inc. (MRVL) lower by 9.6% and Lam Research Corporation (LRCX) down 8.5%. AI-power plays also cracked, with GE Vernova Inc. (GEV) off 9.8% and Bloom Energy Corporation (BE) down 9.1%.
Among the day's biggest Russell 1000 winners, DigitalOcean Holdings, Inc. (DOCN) surged 11.6%, extending a rebound from an index-rebalancing drop tied to its own Russell 1000 addition as the broad software complex rallied.
Figma, Inc. (FIG) jumped 9.9%, riding its Russell inclusion and back-to-back bullish analyst calls, including a fresh Citigroup Buy rating with a $36 target and a concurrent Goldman Sachs Buy at $30.
Cloudflare, Inc. (NET) climbed 8.1% after Scotiabank upgraded the stock to Outperform and lifted its price target to $300 from $225, citing Cloudflare's traction with AI-native enterprise customers.
Mobility Global, Inc. (MBGL) rose 8.6% as the newly independent automotive-data company — spun out of S&P Global and home to CARFAX — kept climbing after beginning trading last week.
Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (VKTX) advanced 6.8% after launching a Phase 1 trial of its obesity candidate VK3019, and RingCentral, Inc. (RNG) added 6.5% on a string of price-target hikes — Raymond James to $55, Rosenblatt and Oppenheimer to $50 — following a first quarter beat.
On the downside, The Middleby Corporation (MIDD) tumbled 22.4%, a mechanical drop reflecting the completed tax-free spin-off of its food-processing business, Midera Food Processing, which began trading Tuesday under "MFP" following a one-for-one share distribution.
Rivian Automotive, Inc. (RIVN) sank 14.6% after launching a public offering of 75 million shares, a dilutive raise that pressured the stock.
The remaining big decliners were swept up in the chip and rate-sensitive sell-off. Vicor Corporation (VICR) slid 11.3% and Teradyne, Inc. (TER) dropped 10.8% alongside AI-chip and semi-equipment peers on profit-taking after enormous year-to-date runs.
