In Thursday's US stock market session, Micron Technology (MU) was the top stock by trading volume, closing down 5.49% with a turnover of $60.254 billion. The stock has experienced significant declines for two consecutive trading days, having fallen over 10% the previous day.
The global memory chip sector has recently seen intense volatility. Analysts suggest the market panic stems from a confluence of factors. Firstly, after a nearly 160% surge in the second quarter, profit-taking pressure has concentrated, with the memory segment being one of the most AI-focused holdings for institutions. End-of-quarter portfolio adjustments have amplified the swings. Secondly, a class-action lawsuit filed in the US, accusing Micron, Samsung, and SK Hynix of colluding to control traditional DRAM output to inflate prices, has raised concerns about legal risks.
Furthermore, reports surfaced that Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) is planning to launch a cloud infrastructure business, selling AI computing power and model access to external clients. The market interpreted this as a potential signal of a slowdown in AI capital expenditure, prompting a swift withdrawal of funds from the hardware supply chain. However, several institutions believe this is an overreaction, suggesting Meta's move is more about finding a commercial outlet for its massive AI spending rather than a fundamental shift.
The industry's fundamentals have not deteriorated fundamentally. Micron's recently reported fiscal third-quarter results far exceeded expectations, with revenue soaring 346% year-over-year to $41.46 billion and gross margin reaching 84.9%. Management indicated that the tight supply-demand situation for HBM is expected to persist beyond 2027. Micron has also signed long-term supply agreements worth approximately $22 billion with 16 customers, attempting to lock in contracts to hedge against price downside risks.
Analysts view the recent sharp decline more as a phase of cooling off after a historic rally, rather than the end of the memory chip upcycle. However, risks from accelerating capacity expansion and demand normalization are rising. Whether the memory industry can break its "boom-and-bust" cycle will test investor patience.
The second-highest trading volume stock was Syndax Pharmaceuticals (SNDX), which closed down 14.13% with a turnover of $31.182 billion. The stock has plunged for two straight sessions, bringing its weekly loss to over 16.5%.
Tesla Motors (TSLA) ranked third by volume, closing down 7.49% with a turnover of $28.774 billion. Tesla has set a weekly cap of $200 on employee AI-related expenditures. According to an internal company memo and informed sources, Tesla notified employees last month that it would implement this $200 weekly limit starting July 6. The memo stated that employees requiring amounts above the limit would need approval, but the cap excludes beta versions of xAI products.
Two people familiar with the usage patterns revealed that Tesla engineers often consume tokens worth thousands of dollars per week.
Separately, data released by Tesla on July 2 showed its global deliveries for the second quarter of 2026 reached 480,126 vehicles, representing approximately 25% year-over-year growth and about 34% quarter-over-quarter growth. This figure was nearly 20% higher than analysts' prior estimate of around 406,000 units and surpassed the most optimistic institutional forecasts. However, the title of global pure-electric vehicle sales leader still belongs to BYD, which delivered 557,100 pure-electric vehicles in Q2, about 77,000 more than Tesla.
Apple (AAPL) ranked fifth by volume, closing up 4.84% with a turnover of $22.678 billion. Reports on Thursday indicated that Apple's efforts to advance its first foldable iPhone are intensifying. According to the latest supply chain information, Apple has requested suppliers to increase the stockpiling target for this year's foldable iPhone from the previous 7-8 million units to around 10 million units.
Informed sources disclosed that Apple has made progress in resolving technical issues related to the hinge for the foldable iPhone, allowing for small-batch shipments to begin after an autumn launch. However, due to numerous manufacturing challenges with foldable devices, mass production may not commence until around the end of the year.
Additional reports suggest Apple plans to release at least five new iPhone models this year and next, aiming to capture market share with a dense product rollout schedule.
Intel (INTC) ranked seventh by volume, closing down 5.25% with a turnover of $14.993 billion. HSBC initiated coverage on Intel with a "Buy" rating and doubled its price target for the chipmaker to $200, the highest on Wall Street. Analyst Frank Lee expressed increasing optimism about Intel's foundry business, believing it "should not be underestimated" as "collaboration with external customers at Intel continues to increase."
Lee stated, "Growth in the server CPU business will still be the key driver for Intel's earnings growth in 2026 and 2027." He added that, benefiting from the reconfiguration of internal foundry capacity, Intel is expected to achieve server CPU shipment growth exceeding expectations in 2026 and 2027.
Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) ranked ninth by volume, closing down 4.90% with a turnover of $12.303 billion. Reports on Thursday quoted Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg as saying the development of AI agents has not met expectations. Citing a recording of an internal all-hands meeting, media reported Zuckerberg stated that AI agent development over the past four months "has not accelerated in the way we expected."
Zuckerberg added that the restructuring, which included mass layoffs, could have been "cleaner," and the company's bet on the new architecture "isn't working yet."
The company recently announced plans to sell excess computing capacity, becoming the first major global tech firm to clearly signal a reduction in spending.
News of the company's intention to offload surplus computing power triggered fears of an AI computing glut, leading to a broad decline in global tech stocks. In the A-share market, popular tech sectors like memory, optical modules, PCBs (printed circuit boards), and MLCCs (multilayer ceramic capacitors) fell. Meanwhile, as a key player in the upstream compute supply chain, Nvidia introduced a new AI infrastructure partnership model, planning to open computing resources to the rapidly growing AI ecosystem through revenue-sharing and credit support collaborations.
Marvell Technology (MRVL) ranked twelfth by volume, closing down 9.84% with a turnover of $9.577 billion. The stock has plunged for two consecutive trading days, having closed down 8.67% on Wednesday.
Applied Materials (AMAT) ranked fifteenth by volume, closing down 7.35% with a turnover of $9.097 billion. This stock also recorded losses for two straight sessions, having closed down nearly 10% on Wednesday.
KLA-Tencor (KLAC) ranked twentieth by volume, closing down 11.51% with a turnover of $5.623 billion. The US semiconductor sector was broadly lower on Thursday.
Comments