Chip stocks decline as Nasdaq falls ahead of tech earnings, dragging crypto miners down with them

The semiconductor sector just had its worst week in over a year, and it took a surprising number of crypto-adjacent names down with it. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.47%, or 387 points, to close at 25,881.95 on July 16, with the technology sector falling 1.8% and semiconductor stocks bearing the brunt of the pain. The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index, commonly known as the SOX, fell roughly 4.3% that day before extending losses to approximately 4.8% the following session. A trillion dollars, gone The SOX index officially entered bear market territory, having declined around 20% from its late June highs. At the peak of the selloff, more than $1 trillion in semiconductor-related market value had evaporated. AMD was among the hardest hit individual names, shedding approximately 7.8% during the downturn. Intel reported second-quarter 2026 revenue of $16.1 billion, representing a 25% increase year over year, fueled in part by AI-related demand. The timing of this selloff matters. It arrived just ahead of a critical earnings week featuring Alphabet, Tesla, Intel, and IBM. Investors were already nervous about whether the massive capital expenditures flowing into AI infrastructure woul...