Micron dived 10% despite a 260% YTD gain, dragging Samsung and SK Hynix lower in Asia. OpenAI's Altman may offer the U.S. a 5% stake. Russia struck Ukraine.
The chip sell-off that started on Wall Street Wednesday rolled into Asia on Thursday, with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix sinking and dragging South Korea's Kospi into the red. The trigger was a broad tech retreat stateside: Micron Technology shares dived more than 10% despite a 260% year-to-date gain, Sandisk shed over 10%, and Nvidia and Broadcom fell 1% to 2%.
The move looks like profit-taking on massive runs rather than a fundamental shift. Micron's Alpha Score sits at 80/100, labeled Strong, and the stock is down 1.25% today at $197.58. Nvidia's Alpha Score is 65/100, Moderate. Both are in the Technology sector. The question is whether the rotation deepens or finds a floor.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is considering offering the U.S. government a roughly 5% stake in the company, the Financial Times reported. That stake could be worth about $42 billion after the most recent funding round. The move looks like a charm offensive aimed at the White House as AI regulation takes shape. Altman's calculation: give Washington a seat at the table before it builds its own.
Russia launched a large missile and drone attack against Ukraine, its Defense Ministry said, calling it a "massive strike using long-range precision air, land, and sea-based weapons and attack drones." Poland and Finland scrambled fighter jets and imposed aviation restriction zones. The escalation adds to the geopolitical risk premium already priced into energy and defense stocks.
Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh, speaking in Sintra, Portugal, said inflation is too high but declined to signal the next rate move. ECB President Christine Lagarde said the U.S. and Europe "need each other" on AI investment, calling the blocs "sort of hostage to each other" on progress.
Amazon is designing its own AI chips for Echo, Fire TV, and future devices, hardware chief Panos Panay told CNBC. The company is experimenting with different types of AI-enabled gadgets, a move that could reduce reliance on external chip suppliers over time.
The chip rout will test whether the AI trade has more room to run or whether the July rotation is the start of a broader unwind. The next catalyst is earnings season, starting with the big banks next week.
Prepared with AlphaScala research tooling and grounded in primary market data: live prices, fundamentals, SEC filings, hedge-fund holdings, and insider activity. Each story is checked against AlphaScala publishing rules before release. Educational coverage, not personalized advice.