IXIC: Nasdaq Composite Drops 1.5% as Tech Rout Continues, Chip Selloff Intensifies

US stocks are headed for a losing week just as the earnings season is about to get interesting.

💥 Tech Takes Another Hit

• The Nasdaq Composite IXIC slid 1.5% on Thursday, leading Wall Street lower as the chip selloff gathered fresh momentum.
• The S&P 500 lost 0.5%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 105 points, or 0.2%. Not every stock had a bad day — but tech definitely got the memo.
• Investors have spent months piling into the same handful of tech winners. Now they're doing the opposite. When the biggest stocks stumble, headline indexes tend to exaggerate the damage because those giants carry outsized weight.

🧠 Chip Trade Hits the Brakes

• Semiconductor shares were the market's biggest drag. The PHLX Semiconductor Index dropped 4.3%, with Nvidia, Broadcom, AMD, Intel, Micron, Sandisk and Seagate all losing ground.
• Hedge funds have also been quietly dialing back exposure. Goldman Sachs' prime brokerage said aggregate net positioning in its AI basket has fallen to its lowest level this year.
• Even strong fundamentals couldn't stop the selling. TSMC posted its fifth straight quarter of record earnings, with profit surging 77%. Meanwhile, South Korea tightened rules on leveraged chip ETFs after wild swings in SK Hynix and Samsung shares.

📅 Chip Trade Hits the Brakes

• Economic data offered little drama. US retail sales rose 0.2% in June, cooling from May's revised 1% increase. Slower spending may ease inflation concerns, but it also reinforces the idea that economic momentum is gradually moderating.
• Futures pointed to another cautious start on Friday. Dow futures fell roughly 300 points, S&P 500 futures lost 0.7%, and Nasdaq futures dropped about 1% as traders digested another wave of corporate earnings.
• Netflix NFLX added to the cautious mood after shares fell more than 9% after-market despite reporting results broadly in line with expectations.
• Earnings season is only getting started, and after this week's tech wobble, Wall Street's tolerance for "good enough" appears to be wearing thin.