Analysis: Intel's earnings trigger broad tech stock decline, semiconductor sector falls collectively

Odaily report: Intel's earnings fell short of expectations and its outlook was weak, combined with Amazon's disappointing results, which reignited market concerns about AI investment trades, sending semiconductor stocks broadly lower. The decline spread across the entire semiconductor industry, with chip equipment makers, wafer foundries, and analog chip suppliers all taking a hit.

According to MSX.COM data, Broadcom's stock fell about 4% at the open of Friday's regular trading session, AMD plunged nearly 10%, and Micron Technology dropped 5.5%. Intel's stock fell nearly 30% on Friday, erasing about $120 billion in market value. Wafer fab equipment maker stocks also declined, with Applied Materials down nearly 5% and Lam Research down 5.5%. The sector is particularly sensitive to chipmakers' willingness to spend on capital expenditures, especially when chip manufacturers cut back on investments in memory and logic chips, equipment makers tend to bear the brunt. Meanwhile, Qualcomm's stock also weakened along with the broader wireless communications and handset industry. The market is worried about weak enterprise hardware demand and bottlenecks in smartphone demand.