US stocks fell sharply on Friday amid a renewed selloff in chipmakers and rising geopolitical tensions. The S&P 500 dropped 1%, the Nasdaq 100 slid 3%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by about 100 points.
Semiconductor stocks tumbled on fears that major AI “hyperscalers” will scale back investment in AI infrastructure, unwinding much of this year’s rally. Concerns over lower capital expenditures were compounded by rapid improvements in Chinese AI models, including the latest release from Kimi. Micron and Intel each fell more than 4%, while Nvidia slipped 2%.
At the same time, pro-inflationary pressures intensified as the war in the Middle East persisted and fuel prices rose. Additional economic risks emerged after US President Trump alleged that China interfered in the 2020 US presidential election, threatening the fragile truce that followed last year’s tariff-related disputes between the two countries.
On the earnings front, Netflix sank 11% after projecting another quarter of slowing revenue growth.
