Midday declines in U.S. tech shares follow a 10% drop in South Korea’s Kospi, pressuring chipmakers and AI-linked equities.
The S&P 500 fell 1.06% to 7,393.73 at midday, led by a 1.56% drop in the Nasdaq as technology stocks extended losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.09% to 51,758.04, while gold declined 1.35% to $4,134.70 and the 10-year Treasury yield slipped to 4.48%.
South Korea’s Kospi plunged nearly 10%, its steepest decline in over three months, amid forced liquidations and regulatory shifts. The sell-off spread to U.S. chipmakers, with Sandisk down over 12% and Micron Technology off nearly 11%. Healthcare, consumer defensive, and utilities sectors outperformed.
AI valuation concerns weighed on sentiment, though IBM rose nearly 5% after a JPMorgan upgrade. Walmart gained following a 15-year nuclear power supply deal with Constellation Energy.