A 10% plunge in South Korea’s Kospi and steep losses in chip stocks push Nasdaq-100 futures down over 1% before U.S. earnings reports.
Semiconductor stocks led a global sell-off Tuesday, pulling Nasdaq-100 futures down more than 1% in premarket trading as investors braced for earnings from Amazon, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Apple. South Korea’s Kospi tumbled nearly 10%, triggering two trading halts, with SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics each dropping over 13%.
The VanEck Semiconductor ETF fell 3% in early U.S. trading, extending a three-day losing streak that saw a 3.3% decline Monday. Micron Technology and Western Digital each slid about 5%, while Nvidia retreated another 1% after a 5% drop the prior session. S&P 500 futures dipped 0.2%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures edged higher by 0.2% to 0.5%.
Concerns over the cost of AI infrastructure and China’s narrowing tech gap drove the broader decline, with cloud operators’ spending plans under scrutiny ahead of key earnings. The sector’s fortunes hinge on guidance from major tech firms reporting this week.