South Korea's Market Rout Slams Global Chip Stocks Ahead of Fed Decision

The global semiconductor market took a hit on Tuesday as South Korea's Kospi plummeted nearly 11%, its third-worst single-day drop in history, amidst growing concerns over China's advances in semiconductor manufacturing.

This led to a selloff in chip stocks worldwide, with AI and memory names like Nvidia and Micron under pressure. The Federal Reserve began its two-day FOMC meeting on Tuesday, but investors were more focused on the market volatility caused by the South Korean rout.

Among the hardest hit were companies like SanDisk, which saw a further decline in premarket trading after falling 11% on Monday, and Applied Digital, which rose over 1% despite the overall market downturn. SpaceX's shares remained under pressure ahead of its first public earnings report on August 4.