A higher capital expenditure forecast from TSMC sent chip stocks broadly lower Thursday, with the VanEck Semiconductor ETF falling nearly 7% for the week and Nasdaq-100 futures dropping as much as 2% in premarket trading Friday.
A higher-than-expected capital expenditure forecast from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. rattled technology markets Thursday, sending chip stocks sharply lower and putting the Nasdaq-100 on track for a negative week.
Nasdaq-100 futures dropped as much as 2% in premarket trading Friday following the down session. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF, which tracks a broad basket of chipmakers, had fallen nearly 7% for the week as of Thursday's close — one of its sharpest weekly declines in the past year.
The sell-off was broad across the semiconductor space. Arm Holdings, Micron Technology, and Advanced Micro Devices each shed more than 5% in Thursday's session alone, according to market data.
The damage was not confined to hardware companies. Alphabet shares fell 4% after a report emerged that the Google parent is delaying the release of one of its artificial intelligence models, compounding the tech sector's week-long slide.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average fared better than its peers, cushioned in part by a post-earnings gain from UnitedHealth. Even so, all three major indexes remain on pace to close the week in negative territory.
Netflix added to investor unease Thursday after its second-quarter results came in roughly in line with Wall Street's expectations but its forward guidance disappointed. The stock fell more than 11% in extended trading. The company also said it would reduce the frequency of its "What We Watched" engagement reports, a metric that had drawn scrutiny following reports of viewership drop-offs after the first season of its series. Netflix described overall engagement with its content as "healthy."
The streaming giant raised subscription prices earlier this year and said the results of those increases were in line with its expectations and consistent with past price hikes.
On the regulatory front, event contract exchanges are facing a shifting oversight landscape. Legal experts now expect the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to take on a role in prediction market oversight alongside the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, as platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket have grown rapidly. A Polymarket spokesperson said the company has engaged with both agencies on definitional frameworks for its offerings. Kalshi declined to comment.
The CFTC is separately investigating Trump's longtime teleprompter operator after he allegedly placed bets on the prediction market platform Kalshi tied to statements from the president. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday the operator had been placed on unpaid leave.
Separately, a CNBC survey released Friday found deepening economic pessimism among Americans. Roughly 60% of those surveyed said they held a negative view of the current state of the economy and the outlook for the future — the highest such reading since late 2023. About the same percentage said they disapprove of President Donald Trump's handling of the economy. The president's net approval rating stands at 40%, according to the poll.
The confluence of chip sector pressure, streaming earnings disappointment, and softening consumer sentiment underscores the fragile footing markets enter as they head into the final stretch of the second-quarter earnings season. Investors will be watching whether further guidance from major technology companies stabilizes or deepens the week's decline.
Marc Sabatini is a staff writer at TechEchelon covering enterprise software, cybersecurity, and the regulatory beats that shape both. He focuses on the deal flow and policy decisions that move markets.
More from Marc →A global semiconductor sell-off drove Nasdaq 100 futures down 1.9% on Friday, as investors questioned the sustainability of AI infrastructure spending and U.S.-Iran hostilities renewed pressure on energy markets.
Netflix posted second-quarter revenue of $12.56 billion and earnings of 80 cents per share, roughly in line with estimates, but a soft third-quarter forecast and a pullback on viewership reporting sent shares down more than 8% after hours.
Short interest in SpaceX has surged to roughly 29% of the company's public float, representing about $25 billion in bearish bets, as shares fell below their $135 IPO price for the first time in July.
Written for readers who already know the basics — markets, AI, and the policy decisions that shape both.