Nasdaq Falls as Chip Selloff Meets 5% Treasury Yield

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index lost 5.86% on Monday, a heavy blow to the trade that has powered much of this year’s technology rally. Nvidia fell 3.36%, while AMD dropped 4.40%, Micron shed 5.25% and Intel slid 5.59%. Marvell Technology also declined sharply as investors questioned how much more spending the artificial-intelligence buildout can absorb.

The Nasdaq Composite finished 146.62 points lower, or 0.56%, at 26,186.41. The S&P 500 fell 0.48% to 7,619.98, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.29% to 52,421.20. The index losses were relatively contained because strength in healthcare, consumer staples and several large software and internet companies offset part of the semiconductor rout.

The immediate catalyst was a fresh challenge to the assumptions underpinning AI infrastructure spending. Anthropic Chief Executive Dario Amodei called over the weekend for companies to slow the pace of AI development, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and xAI chief Elon Musk voiced agreement with the broader warning. The comments struck a market already crowded with high-priced chip and data-center stocks, where valuations depend heavily on cash flows expected years into the future.

Rates added another layer of pressure. The 10-year Treasury yield briefly moved above 5% for the first time since 2023, reaching about 5.01%, before ending near 4.96%. Brent crude settled at $105.68 a barrel after approaching $110, intensifying concern that an oil shock could keep inflation elevated and complicate the Federal Reserve’s policy decisions.

That combination matters for growth stocks. Higher Treasury yields raise the discount rate applied to future profits, while an uncertain AI spending outlook attacks the other side of the valuation equation. Investors now face a Fed meeting on Wednesday, September 16, with bond markets already focused on whether policymakers can respond to slowing growth without accommodating renewed inflation. For chip stocks, Monday’s move looked less like a broad technology retreat than a sharp repricing of the AI investment cycle.