What happened: AI memory stocks Micron (MU), Sandisk (SNDK), and Western Digital (WDC) each fell more than 3% on Wednesday morning, extending their losses from the prior session as the broader market declined.
What's behind the move: The decline comes amid renewed strikes between the US and Iran and as selling pressure on the artificial intelligence trade continued after Samsung Electronics' (005930.KS) record profits failed to impress investors this week.
Growing concerns that hyperscalers could eventually slow their AI infrastructure spending have prompted investors to take profits across the sector.
Sentiment was also pressured by a Reuters report that Chinese AI startup DeepSeek is developing its own AI chip, raising fresh competitive concerns.
The weakness spread across the broader semiconductor sector, with Intel (INTC), AMD (AMD), and Broadcom (AVGO) all sinking.
What else you need to know: The AI trade has been a major driver of earnings growth this year, helping propel the broader stock market higher.
A critical shortage of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) used in AI data centers has fueled sharp gains in shares of Micron, Samsung Electronics, and SK Hynix (000660.KS), with Wall Street expecting supply constraints to persist through 2027.
Fundstrat's Tom Lee wrote in a note on Wednesday, "We remain structurally bullish on AI and AI-related stocks and view this pullback as a buying opportunity."
The AI trade could face an important test this week as SK Hynix plans to raise about $28 billion through a US-listed IPO.