Chip Stocks Under Heavy Selling Pressure as Nasdaq Falls Nearly 1%; Nvidia Extends Losing Streak to Seven Sessions — BigGo Finance

U.S. stocks closed mixed on Monday, with semiconductor and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure names broadly selling off, dragging the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite down nearly 1%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average managed to close higher, supported by financial stocks.

The Nasdaq Composite fell 200.26 points, or 0.76%, to close at 25,980.19. The S&P 500 Index declined 21.51 points, or 0.28%, to settle at 7,652.86. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 140.15 points, or 0.26%, to finish at 53,417.16.

Semiconductor stocks were the primary source of selling pressure on the day. The iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) fell as much as 2.33% intraday, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index closed down 2.7%. Among individual names, memory chip giant Micron Technology plunged 5.83% to $911.27, leading the declines. AMD dropped 3.49%, Intel fell 3.1%, Broadcom declined 2.63%, and Taiwan-based foundry leader TSMC saw its U.S.-listed shares fall 2.11%.

AI data center supply chain names were also hit hard. SanDisk tumbled 6.4%, Seagate Technology fell approximately 6.5%, while Coherent and Lumentum each dropped more than 4%.

Market attention is squarely focused on Nvidia, which is scheduled to report earnings on Wednesday. The stock fell 2.9% on Monday, marking its seventh consecutive session of losses—the longest such streak since September 2022. Investors are concerned that if Nvidia’s earnings show signs of slowing growth momentum, it could further intensify concerns about stretched valuations across AI-related names. Market sources indicate that AI-related memory prices for some major customers could rise by more than 15%, raising concerns about escalating costs across the industry. According to Wall Street consensus estimates, Nvidia’s revenue for the current quarter (the second quarter of fiscal 2027, ending in July) is expected to land between $91.8 billion and $92.2 billion, representing year-over-year growth of nearly 96%—slightly above the midpoint of Nvidia’s own guidance range of $91 billion, plus or minus 2%. The market is closely watching whether the company can sustain its near-doubling growth trajectory.

In contrast to the weakness in tech, financial stocks delivered a strong performance. Visa rose 3.1%, Mastercard gained 3.3%, and JPMorgan Chase also advanced, providing support to the Dow.

Treasury Buyback Plan and Inflation Pressures

The U.S. Treasury Department is considering deploying up to $950 billion (approximately NT$30.2 trillion) from its Treasury General Account (TGA) to conduct buyback operations of U.S. government bonds, aiming to lower both short- and long-term Treasury yields. Last week, the 30-year Treasury yield briefly breached 5.3%, hitting its highest level in roughly two decades. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has previously indicated that the scale of long-term bond buybacks could be at least doubled.

In response to the news, the 30-year Treasury yield fell more than 4 basis points on Monday to 5.23%, while the 10-year yield declined more than 3 basis points to 4.70%. However, analysts at Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo argue that buyback operations alone are unlikely to reverse the upward trend in long-term Treasury yields, given that fundamental issues—including the widening U.S. fiscal deficit, rising inflationary pressures, and increased supply of long-term government bonds—remain unresolved. According to Bloomberg, when the buyback plan was first announced on August 19, the 30-year yield initially dropped 9 basis points to 5.196%, but the rally faded within days and yields rebounded to 5.273%, corroborating the skepticism expressed by Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo analysts about the effectiveness of buyback operations.

In energy markets, international oil prices pulled back on Monday. October-delivery Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures both fell approximately 2.35%, primarily reflecting profit-taking after the sharp rally driven by recent Middle East tensions. Nevertheless, energy prices remain at relatively elevated levels, and combined with continued U.S. deficit spending, inflationary pressures remain significant. The U.S. commitment to economically isolate Iran has also heightened market concerns about the inflation outlook.

Tariff Threats and Market Outlook

President Donald Trump said on Monday that the U.S. will impose 50% tariffs on automobiles, trucks, auto parts, and steel imported from Canada, with the measures expected to take effect on January 1 of next year. The announcement further intensified risk-averse sentiment among investors.

Key market events this week include Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s remarks at the Jackson Hole annual economic policy symposium, as well as Nvidia’s upcoming earnings report. Wall Street strategists broadly believe that Nvidia’s earnings will be the critical factor determining the near-term direction of AI-related stocks. If the report shows slowing growth in the data center business, the market may reassess the return on capital expenditure for AI infrastructure, further pressuring valuations across the sector. Notably, this will be Warsh’s first appearance at the Jackson Hole conference as Fed Chair since succeeding Jerome Powell in May of this year, and the market is closely parsing his remarks as a key signal for the September rate decision.