Semiconductor stocks saw a broad intraday sell-off in U.S. trading on Oct. 30, according to Gate data cited by ChainCatcher. Intel fell 30% after the open, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropped 5.7%. AMD lost about 10%, Arm fell 9.5%, and Nvidia was down 3.3%, taking the sector’s total market value below $5 trillion.
Major indexes also moved lower. The Nasdaq 100 was down about 3% at one point, and the S&P 500 fell roughly 1.25%.
Intel guidance missed market expectations
Intel issued fourth-quarter guidance that came in below expectations. The company forecast revenue of $15 billion to $16 billion, below the market estimate of $17.07 billion. It also projected adjusted earnings per share of $0.25, versus an expected $0.43.
In the third quarter, Intel’s PC chip business posted revenue of $8.1 billion, down 5% year over year. Management said weakness in the PC market could last at least through the first half of 2027. It also said AI demand had pushed up memory prices, increasing costs for PC manufacturers.
Brokerage views turned more cautious
Bank of America downgraded Intel to Neutral and cut its price target to $100. The bank said pressure in the PC business was offsetting data center performance and that the company’s external foundry offering lacked enough appeal.
Bernstein said market optimism around server and foundry prospects had obscured the deterioration in PCs. The firm added that Intel still faced a mismatch between excess PC capacity and insufficient server capacity.
Weakness spread across memory and equipment names
The sell-off extended into storage and semiconductor equipment stocks. Micron fell 5.5%, Qualcomm dropped 6.3%, Broadcom lost about 4%, Applied Materials fell nearly 5%, Lam Research declined 5.5%, and Kioxia American depositary receipts dropped about 15%.
Amazon also added pressure after reporting revenue and earnings per share below expectations, which deepened concerns about returns on AI spending. The company is expected to keep capital expenditures at $220 billion this year and still plans to expand next year.
Rotation calls gained attention
Raymond James strategist Matt Orton said this was not a 「liquidation moment」 for mega-cap technology companies and that the underlying fundamentals remained solid, but he said investors should reassess crowded positions in technology stocks.
Elsewhere in the market, the S&P 500 energy and healthcare sectors rose about 1.8% and 1.4%, respectively. JPMorgan’s trading desk said concerns over AI monetization were deepening sector rotation and that large technology names could continue to weigh on the broader market in the short term.
