MW Intel, Nvidia and other hot chip stocks fall as AI exuberance fades
By Hannah Pedone
'Even a little bit of China disappointment is enough to cause ripples throughout the industry,' analyst says
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang accompanied President Trump on his China trip this week.
Various chip stocks were falling on Friday, as investors digested the latest news out of China and took a general breather from the furious semiconductor rally that had been sweeping up the market in recent weeks.
For one, President Trump announced that China has yet to buy Nvidia's H200 GPUs, according to the Wall Street Journal. He said that China "chose not to" - a potential blow after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's presence on Trump's Beijing trip had investors hopeful that the chip maker's China business could restart in a material way.
Shares of Nvidia (NVDA) were down 3% on Friday afternoon, while the VanEck Semiconductor ETF SMH, a proxy for chip stocks, was down 3%.
"Even a little bit of China disappointment is enough to cause ripples throughout the industry," Benchmark analyst Cody Acree told MarketWatch.
See also: Cerebras's stock looks like a risky bet on AI hype
Investors may also simply be cooling down on the chip sector after sustained hype recently.
D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria said that while the news out of Trump's China trip could be driving stocks in the sector down, the "hangover" from Cerebras Systems' (CBRS) blockbuster initial public offering could be another factor at play. Cerebras shares jumped nearly 70% above their IPO price on Thursday before losing ground in Friday's session.
Read more: Cerebras's stock pulls back after a blowout opening day
Luria said the initial hype around Cerebras could be understood by investors as a sign of "exuberance," which is being met by caution on Friday.
Acree added that there doesn't have to be much negativity in chip stocks to cause a selloff in the sector, which he said is now seeing "profit-taking" after a blazing recent run.
"I think that it was just a very expensive sector that has been poised for a correction," he said.
Shares of Broadcom $(AVGO)$ were down 3% on Friday, while shares of Intel $(INTC)$ were down 6%.
See also: Semiconductor names have never before held this much sway over the stock market. Here's how much of a problem that could be.
-Hannah Pedone
This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 15, 2026 13:38 ET (17:38 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Comments