The Nasdaq Composite fell around 0.4% at the opening bell on Tuesday, as another round of selling hit major semiconductor companies.
The broader S&P 500 was practically flat, down around 0.02% in early trading, highlighting the increasingly sharp divergence between technology stocks and the wider US market.
Among the largest chip companies, Nvidia fell 0.9%, while AMD dropped 2.7%. Memory-chip producer Micron Technology was among the weakest performers, falling 4.7%.
The declines extend the recent global semiconductor sell-off, which has particularly affected companies exposed to artificial intelligence infrastructure and memory chips.
Investors have become increasingly sensitive to high AI-related valuations, the scale of capital spending across the sector and growing competitive pressure within the semiconductor industry.
The weakness has been particularly pronounced among memory-chip manufacturers, while Nvidia and AMD remain exposed to broader questions about whether the rapid expansion in AI infrastructure can continue to justify current valuations.
For investors, the important distinction is that the weakness has not yet developed into a broad US equity sell-off.
The near-flat S&P 500 suggests money is rotating away from some of the market’s highest-valued technology names rather than leaving equities altogether.
The next test will be whether weakness in semiconductors remains contained or begins spreading into the wider AI and technology trade, which has been a major driver of US equity-market gains.
