Semis slide, Dow surges

Allan Tong Posted On July 17, 2024

The market rotation out of tech into rate-sensitive stocks accelerated Wednesday after reports were published that U.S. President Biden is considering a sweeping clampdown on U.S. companies exporting their chipmaking equipment to China.

This triggered a sell-off of semi stocks as the SMH ETF sank 7.12% and leader Nvidia slid 6.38% in heavy trading. Related areas in tech were also hit as Tesla fell 2.87% and Meta tumbled 5.68%. In contrast, UNH reported a solid beat and rallied 4.45%. In all, the Nasdaq posted its worst day since 2022, sliding 2.68% as the S&P sank 1.36%. However, the Dow rallied 0.53% or about 250 points to mark another record close. The U.S. 10-year yield continued to fade, slipping down to 4.164% though Bitcoin retreated only 0.19% to about US$64,600.

Faring relatively better was the TSX, which gave back 0.61% after several record-breaking days. Major movers: Cogeco 10.04%, Interfor 6.16%, Celestica -10.07%, Cameco -7.39% and Royal Bank which climbed 1.47% to make another record high. Gold surrendered US$11 to US$2,457, and WTI jumped 2.65% to nearly US$83 a barrel.

💹 VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH-Q) -7.12%

💾 NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA-Q) -6.38%

🚗 Tesla Inc (TSLA-Q) -2.87%

🕵️‍♂️ Meta Platforms Inc / Facebook (META-Q) -5.68%

👨‍⚕️ UnitedHealth Group Inc (UNH-N) +4.45%

🅱 Bitcoin (BTCUSD) (CRYPTO:BTC) -0.19%

📡 Cogeco Communications (CCA-T) +10.04%

🌲 Interfor Corp (IFP-T) +6.16%

🧬 Celestica Inc (CLS-T) -10.07%

⛏ Cameco Corporation (CCO-T) -7.39%

🏛 Royal Bank (RY-T) +1.47%