Chip Stocks Sink Nasdaq Futures Despite TSMC Record Quarter
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- SK Hynix and Samsung posted steep drops in Asian trading, sending South Korea's Kospi index more than 6% lower as chip stocks came under renewed pressure
- TSMC reported its fifth straight quarter of record earnings earlier in the day, yet the strong results failed to lift sentiment around AI-linked stocks
- Nasdaq-100 futures slipped 1.03% to 29,388.00, with Sandisk, Western Digital, and Micron among the biggest premarket losers stateside
- Oil prices held steady near $80.36 a barrel, shrugging off reporting that President Trump is leaning toward expanding US military operations in Iran
- UnitedHealth, US Bancorp, and Netflix are slated to report earnings today, alongside June retail sales and US housing data
Why it matters: The disconnect between TSMC's fifth straight record quarter and a 6% Kospi rout plus 1.03% slide in Nasdaq-100 futures shows that sentiment around AI demand — not chip fundamentals — is dictating the tape. Investors who bought the dip on TSMC's beat are watching memory and storage names (Micron, Western Digital, Sandisk) sell off anyway, while oil's calm at $80.36 despite Trump leaning toward expanding Iran operations signals traders aren't pricing in a fresh energy shock.
