US stocks plunge as tech shares crash; chip index down over 10%

U.S. stock markets suffered a substantial decline on Friday, with the tech and semiconductor sectors bearing the brunt of the sell-off. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.35%, the S&P 500 dropped 2.64%, and the Nasdaq Composite, heavily weighted with tech stocks, recorded its largest single-day decrease since early 2025, closing down 4.18%.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index experienced a particularly brutal day, plummeting over 10%, its steepest single-day fall since March 2020. This sharp decline in chip stocks was triggered by chipmaker Broadcom's failure to raise its artificial intelligence chip performance expectations in its recent earnings report. The sell-off intensified throughout Friday, exacerbated by a robust May jobs report that significantly diminished market expectations for imminent interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.

Major chip manufacturers saw significant losses. Micron Technology, a star performer in the recent bull market, saw its stock price fall 13.25% on Friday, following an 8% drop the previous day. Nvidia declined 6.2%, Intel dropped 11.28%, AMD fell 10.86%, and Broadcom itself was down 7.92%. The widespread losses across the semiconductor sector painted a grim picture for tech investors.

In response to the tech sell-off, investors shifted towards more defensive sectors. Healthcare and consumer staples stocks saw gains, with Colgate-Palmolive rising over 4%, Coca-Cola up 3.44%, and Johnson & Johnson increasing by 2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 50,866.78, the S&P 500 at 7,383.74, the Nasdaq Composite at 25,709.43, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index at 12,220.762.