Home›Forex›Major Pairs›Nasdaq 100 drops as AI and chip leverage unwinds

Nasdaq 100 drops as AI and chip leverage unwinds

The Nasdaq 100 was down 2.7% week to date as of July 16, while SK Hynix and Samsung slid 15.5% and 10.5% for the week of July 13.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Major Pairs

The Nasdaq 100 was the weakest of the major US benchmark stock indices, falling 2.7% week to date as of Thursday, July 16, 2026. It trailed the S&P 500 (-0.6%), the Dow Jones Industrial Average (-0.2%), and the Russell 2000 (-0.1%), even as investors pointed to strong Q2 results from major Wall Street banks such as Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase.

Action Forex said the pullback is being driven by an “elevator down” effect in AI infrastructure and high memory bandwidth semiconductor stocks that had delivered triple digit gains earlier in 2026. The outlet linked the move to leveraged long positions tied to bellwethers SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, which fell 15.5% and 10.5% for the week of July 13.

The article also cites a shift toward cash flow discipline as chipmakers face concerns about supply overbuilding. Despite a robust earnings picture for the sector and a strong quarterly outlook from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Action Forex reported that TSMC’s higher capital expenditure forecast contributed to a “sell the news” move, sending TSMC ADRs down 4.5% on July 16.

Finally, the outlet warned that if tech hyperscalers keep spending aggressively on back end hardware while delaying consumer model monetization, valuation pressure could rise for high beta growth names. It added that South Korea’s KOSPI was down 17% month to date, reflecting broader risk appetite strain.

Latest closeS&P 500 7,533.77 ▼0.5%|Nasdaq Comp. 25,881.95 ▼1.5%|Dow Jones 52,552.97 ▼0.2%

More like this

Sources