AMD (AMD) shares had plunged 16% by noon trading on Wednesday, and most semiconductor stocks followed suit.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) had dropped 4.7%, further demonstrating the red cloud over the sector.
AMD’s drop occurred the day after reporting its fourth-quarter results and guidance that surpassed market expectations.
Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore said he was “surprised” at the weakness in the stock after the results, “as the numbers were quite good and AMD said the right stuff about the new products.”
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) had declined 4%, while Intel (INTC) and Nvidia (NVDA) had both slid 3.5%. Marvell (MRVL) had dropped 2.5%, and Credo Technology (CRDO) had sunk 10%. Astera Labs (ALAB) had fallen 8%.
Memory producers were also reversing recent gains. Micron Technology (MU) and WD (WDC) were both down 9%, while Seagate Technology (STX) had shed 6%. Sandisk (SNDK) had tumbled 11%.
The declines in the sector mirrored the broader market, as the S&P 500 (SP500) and the Nasdaq Composite (COMP:IND) had declined 0.4% and 1.4%, respectively. Data released on Wednesday demonstrated a weaker-than-expected U.S. private jobs report. The U.S. private sector added 22,000 jobs in January, missing the 45,000 consensus and slipping from 37,000 in December, which was revised down from 41,000, according to data released by ADP.
However, an extreme outlier in the semiconductor sector was Silicon Laboratories (SLAB), which has rocketed nearly 50% following news that Texas Instruments (TXN) had signed a definitive agreement to acquire the company for about $7.5B in an all-cash transaction. Texas Instruments had inched down 0.7%.
Furthermore, Cirrus Logic (CRUS) had perked up 7% on its latest financial results.