Nasdaq futures slid more than 1% early on July 13 as investor concerns about artificial intelligence spending and escalating US-Iran tensions weighed on semiconductor stocks and energy prices.
AI stocks are stumbling as investors question whether the dizzying trade that has powered markets this year has more room to run, according to the Wall Street Journal. The retreat comes just one trading day after SK Hynix, a South Korean memory chipmaker, completed a blockbuster $26.5 billion US debut on the Nasdaq on Friday, raising the largest amount ever by a foreign company listing in America.
SK Hynix’s American depositary receipts surged 13% in their first trading day, closing at $168.01. But momentum reversed sharply on Sunday when the South Korean stock tumbled 15% in Seoul, marking its steepest fall on record, according to the WSJ. The reversal exposed how quickly sentiment can shift in the chip sector, which has been central to the AI rally that began in 2023 and accelerated through 2026.
Geopolitical risk added to the market’s jitters. With fighting between the US and Iran intensifying over the weekend, Brent crude prices climbed toward $79 a barrel, according to the WSJ. The escalation threatens to disrupt oil supplies and adds another layer of uncertainty for investors already nervous about valuations in the technology sector.
The Chip Sector’s Leverage to AI Demand
Memory chip stocks like SK Hynix have become proxies for AI investment appetite. The company commands a massive chunk of the global market for High-Bandwidth Memory (HBM), the vertically stacked, ultra-fast DRAM chips essential for AI systems. SK Hynix has pledged to spend up to $720 billion on expanding facilities to meet memory demand for artificial intelligence, according to CNBC.
The sharp reversal in SK Hynix shares after its hot debut highlights how leverage in the chip sector can amplify moves in either direction. When confidence in AI spending falters—as it has in recent weeks amid questions about return on investment—semiconductor stocks tend to fall harder than the broader market. Investors have grown jittery about whether the massive capital expenditures by tech giants will generate returns fast enough to justify their valuations, according to reporting from CNBC and the WSJ.
The Nasdaq composite itself ended the prior week down 0.71%, while the S&P 500 fell 0.22%. The broader retreat in tech and chip stocks reflects a pattern that emerged in late June, when the Magnificent Seven—the largest AI-focused tech names—shed $2.3 trillion in market value amid spending jitters, according to CNBC. That sell-off rippled through memory chip makers, which depend on sustained demand from data-center operators upgrading infrastructure for AI workloads.
Sources
- Wall Street Journal — Nasdaq futures decline, SK Hynix Seoul plunge, Brent crude price move, and AI stock retreat on July 13, 2026
- CNBC — SK Hynix Nasdaq debut details, 13% first-day gain, $26.5 billion raise, and AI spending jitters context
- Reuters — Brent crude oil price levels and oil market context for US-Iran tensions
