Chip stocks are crashing as the rest of the market barely flinches: AlphaCheck

Semiconductor stocks are falling out of bed and flashing red. Under the market's hood, the rally is still running green.

The PHLX Semiconductor Index (^SOX) briefly broke below 11,000 Tuesday, now down over 25% from its June peak, as another wave of selling swept from South Korea through US chip stocks.

The test marks the latest failure for a group that was already testing a make-or-break level earlier this month. The Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM) fell roughly 11% Tuesday and is down over 40% from its June high.

The damage runs through some of the biggest memory names.

SK Hynix (SKHY) fell to an all-time low in US trading after dropping below the $149 offering price from its blockbuster US debut earlier this month.

Micron Technology (MU) has shed over $450 billion in market value since its June record high, while Sandisk (SNDK) has been more than cut in half since its late-June high.

The selling is not universal even inside the group. Nvidia (NVDA) turned positive Tuesday, while Broadcom (AVGO) pared its loss to less than 1%, continuing the relative resilience of the two largest US chip stocks.

And the damage largely stops there.

The S&P 500 equal-weight index (^SP500EW) rallied 1% to a record high Tuesday, even as the chip sell-off dragged down the major indexes.

Nearly three-quarters of S&P 500 (^GSPC) stocks are still higher in July, with the median stock up nearly 6%. Roughly 380 members were advancing Tuesday, and nine of its 11 sectors were trading higher.

That strength also shows up in the S&P 500 advance-decline line, which bounced from its former ceiling last week and hit a record high of its own Tuesday.

The next test arrives Wednesday. The Federal Reserve announces its rate decision before Microsoft and Meta report after the bell. Amazon and Apple follow Thursday afternoon.

As long as the S&P 500 equal-weight index and the advance-decline line hold their breakouts, the chip crash remains a sector problem. A reversal in either would be the first sign the damage is spreading.

Jared Blikre is the global markets and data editor for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on X at @SPYJared or email him at jaredblikre@yahooinc.com.

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