Nvidia Dethroned as Chip Stocks Plunge 5%+
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- PHLX Semiconductor Index plunged more than 5% on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, extending a bear-market slide of more than 20% from June highs as investors unwound AI-driven chip positions.
- Micron (MU) fell 9.03%, SK Hynix (SKHY) dropped 7.18%, AMD shed 7.85%, and ASML slid 4.73%; in South Korea, SK Hynix plunged more than 14% and Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) sank 13.39%.
- Nvidia lost its title as the world's most valuable company to Apple after reports that the chip giant was in talks to backstop $250 billion in funding for OpenAI tied to a major data center project.
- The OpenAI talks came days after Nvidia announced a $500 billion strategic collaboration with SK Group on Friday for AI factories and next-generation memory, fueling circular-financing fears.
- CXMT (ChangXin Memory Technologies) debuted on the Shanghai Stock Exchange with a 470% surge, briefly surpassing ICBC as mainland China's most valuable company and stoking fears its rapid expansion would pressure memory chip prices.
- A report that a Chinese state-backed company began mass-producing key chipmaking equipment added to selling pressure on ASML and other equipment makers including Applied Materials and Lam Research.
- Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta report earnings this week with expectations of further AI capex hikes, following Alphabet's capex-driven stock plunge last week — and any hint of a slowdown 'would spell trouble' for chip companies.
Why it matters: The PHLX Semiconductor Index's 5% drop extends a bear-market decline from June highs, wiping out paper gains for chip investors who piled into the AI trade. With Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta set to report earnings and likely confirm massive AI capex, the source warns any sign of slowing hyperscaler spending would spell trouble for Nvidia, memory makers, and equipment companies alike — a self-reinforcing unwind the sector cannot afford.
