Semiconductor Sector Suffers Worst Week in Over a Year

The semiconductor sector has experienced its worst week in over a year, and this downturn has dragged several crypto-adjacent names down with it. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.47%, or 387 points, to close at 25,881.95 on July 16, with the technology sector falling 1.8%. The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index, commonly known as the SOX, fell roughly 4.3% that day before extending losses to approximately 4.8% the following session.

The SOX index has officially entered bear market territory, having declined around 20% from its late June highs. At the peak of the selloff, more than $1 trillion in semiconductor-related market value had evaporated. AMD was among the hardest hit individual names, shedding approximately 7.8% during the downturn.

The timing of this selloff matters because it arrived just ahead of a critical earnings week featuring Alphabet, Tesla, Intel, and IBM. Investors were already nervous about whether the massive capital expenditures flowing into AI infrastructure would translate into proportional revenue growth.