Chip and AI-related stocks were largely in the red on Thursday amid fears of prolonged supply disruptions from the U.S.-Iran war.
The tech-focused Nasdaq Composite (COMP:IND) dipped around 0.4%. At the same time, the benchmark S&P 500 (SP500) declined about 0.8%. The blue-chip Dow (DJI) fell nearly 1.6%.
Crude oil extended gains on Thursday as the war entered its sixth day, with global supply threatened by attacks against critical infrastructure and shipping traffic via the Strait of Hormuz almost fully stopped.
Meanwhile, South Korean lawmaker Kim Young-bae said that the U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict could disrupt the supply of chipmaking materials and push electricity costs higher. “The semiconductor industry expressed concerns that rising oil prices could lead to higher electricity costs domestically, which could ultimately undermine the price competitiveness of semiconductors,” said Kim after meeting with executives from companies like Samsung Electronics (SSNLF) and SK hynix (HXSC.F).
However, shares of Samsung and memory chipmaking rival SK hynix surged and closed up about 11% in South Korea on Thursday.
Shares of AI chipmakers Nvidia (NVDA) and Advanced Micro Devices’ (AMD) were largely flat but in the red. Broadcom (AVGO) rose roughly 5%, while Qualcomm (QCOM) dipped about 1%.
Several other AI and networking-related stocks were largely in the red on Thursday. Ciena (CIEN), which reported its fiscal first quarter results, tumbled about 15%. Coherent (COHR) slumped nearly 6%, while Lumentum (LITE) fell around 4%. Celestica (CLS) declined about 2%, while Cisco (CSCO) dipped roughly 1%. Arista Networks (ANET) seemed to buck the trend and rose around 2%.
Arm (ARM) fell about 3%, while Analog Devices (ADI) and Lattice Semiconductor (LSCC) each declined nearly 2%. Micron Technology (MU), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM), and Texas Instruments (TXN) each dipped about 1%. Marvell Technology (MRVL) was largely flat but in the red. GlobalFoundries (GFS) rose about 2%, while Intel (INTC) climbed around 1%.
Chip equipment makers: Lam Research (LRCX) and Applied Materials (AMAT) each fell about 3%, while ASML (ASML) and KLA (KLAC) each dipped nearly 2%.
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