The S&P 500 fell 1.44 percent to 7,365.46, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slid 2.21 percent to close at 25,587.04 on June 22, 2026. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 45.87 points, or 0.09 percent, at 51,666.84. The sell-off extended a losing streak for technology stocks that began the previous session and spread rapidly through global markets, with the semiconductor sector at the centre of the rout as investors reassessed the sustainability of the artificial intelligence trade that has driven much of 2026’s rally.
Shares of Sandisk, Micron Technology, and Arm plunged more than 10 percent. Chipmakers Marvell, Analog Devices, Western Digital, Texas Instruments, and Qualcomm all fell around 9 percent. Shares of Nvidia, the largest publicly traded company in the world and a focal point of the artificial intelligence boom, tumbled 4.15 percent. South Korea’s tech-heavy Kospi index closed 10 percent lower, dragged down by chipmaker SK Hynix and tech giant Samsung, with both companies ending the session on losses of more than 12 percent. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 Technology index led regional losses, declining 3 percent, with chipmaker STMicroelectronics and Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASMI both down more than 7 percent.
Investors shifted to risk-off mode, selling this year’s market leaders after a hawkish Federal Reserve signalled last week that inflation remains too high. Technology has been the best-performing sector year to date, sending the major averages to all-time highs in recent weeks amid a boom in artificial intelligence infrastructure investments. Markets are scrambling to reprice a more hawkish Federal Reserve, with Fed fund futures now pointing to two rate hikes this year instead of one. The rising rate hike bets have led to elevated yields, which in turn are weighing on growth stocks, amplifying the pressure on tech names that had been the poster children of 2026’s rally. Analyst Ross Mayfield of Baird noted the decline did not appear closely tied to the fundamentals of the artificial intelligence story but rather to the heavy concentration and strong inflows into global technology over the past few months now starting to unwind.
JPMorgan analysts said the selling could reflect some anxiety before memory maker Micron reports earnings on Wednesday. Dan Ives, head of tech research at Wedbush Securities, noted that Micron shares are still up more than 260 percent since the start of the year and more than 760 percent over the last 12 months. “In this market we will continue to go through a number of gut check moments in the tech trade as the AI Revolution remains in the third inning,” Ives said. “This morning is just another one of those moments.” SpaceX’s volatile trading since its historic market debut on June 12 also continued, with shares hitting a low at $147.11, falling below its initial public offering opening price of $150, before rebounding to end approximately 1 percent higher. Investors moved into more defensive areas of the market, with shares of Walmart gaining more than 2 percent, as did shares of Johnson and Johnson. IBM shares popped 5 percent following an upgrade to overweight at JPMorgan.
Follow the SPIN IDG WhatsApp Channel for updates across the Smart Pakistan Insights Network covering all of Pakistan’s technology ecosystem.
