Chip stocks hit lowest level against the S&P 500 since April 2026

Semiconductor stocks spent years as the market’s favorite children. Lately, they have been sent to their rooms. The ratio of the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) to the S&P 500 has fallen to 1.45. That is its lowest reading since April 2026 and a 24% drop from its mid-June peak. A losing streak with a 2008 vintage Since mid-June 2026, the SOX has dropped roughly 24%, while the S&P 500 has added about 2% over the same stretch. The damage sped up recently. The SOX logged eight straight losing sessions, its longest skid since October 2008, during the depths of the financial crisis. Over that streak, the index shed approximately 16%. It closed at 11,137.29 on October 16, 2026. The selling was not selective. On October 16, all 30 stocks in the index finished lower. Some of the biggest names took notable hits that day. Broadcom, Micron, AMD, Intel, Lam Research, and KLA each fell about 5%, while Arm dropped roughly 7%. Add it up across semiconductor and AI-linked companies, and the slide has erased more than $1 trillion in market value. Why investors are pulling back Investors have grown uneasy about elevated borrowing at AI-focused cloud providers such as CoreWeave. Unexpe...