Near 400-Point Nasdaq Drop Shows How the Semiconductor-Led Selloff Hit US Financial Markets

U.S. markets turned lower Tuesday as a semiconductor-led selloff, hawkish Federal Reserve signals, and softer digital assets overwhelmed earlier relief from Middle East diplomacy.

At 10:48 a.m. Eastern time on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, the Nasdaq Composite stood at 25,766.67, down 399 points, while the S&P 500 was at 7,413.96, off 58.83 points. The NYSE Composite fell 91.27 points to 23,504.95.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was the outlier, rising 29.77 points to 51,742.48, helped by its lighter exposure to high-growth technology shares.

The pressure followed Monday’s tech-led weakness and intensified as a global semiconductor selloff spread through U.S. trading. Memory chip stocks were hit hard after sharp declines in Asian markets, particularly among Korean memory names, while traders moved cautiously ahead of Micron’s fiscal third-quarter report due Wednesday, June 24.

The Ishares Semiconductor ETF fell about 6%, with several large chip names under heavy pressure. Micron dropped roughly 8% to 11% intraday, trading around $1,073 to $1,108 after closing Monday at $1,211.38 following an Anthropic supply deal. Intel fell about 7% to 8%, AMD declined about 6%, and Nvidia lost roughly 3%.

The selloff matters because semiconductors sit at the center of the artificial intelligence investment cycle. After a powerful multi-month rally, traders are now testing whether demand for AI infrastructure, memory chips and data center capacity can justify stretched valuations. Micron’s earnings will offer one of the clearest near-term readings on whether AI memory demand remains strong enough to support those expectations.

The rate backdrop has also turned less friendly for growth stocks. At the June 17 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, the Fed held rates steady at a 3.50% to 3.75% target range, but policymakers raised their year-end 2026 median federal funds rate projection to 3.8%, up from 3.4% in March.

Higher rate expectations tend to weigh most on companies whose valuations depend on future earnings growth. That dynamic is especially important for AI and semiconductor stocks, where investors are pricing in years of expansion. When discount rates rise, the market often becomes less forgiving of lofty multiples, heavy capital spending and earnings that depend on future demand.

The stock rallied after its debut, reaching above $160 intraday, before pulling back on dilution concerns tied to a $60 billion all-stock acquisition of AI coding startup Cursor. Tuesday’s relative strength suggests investors are still separating some long-term growth narratives, including Starlink and Starship, from the immediate reset hitting memory and chip names.

Middle East diplomacy has helped ease some market pressure, but it has not resolved the conflict risk. On June 17, President Trump and Iranian President Pezeshkian signed the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, launching a 60-day diplomatic process aimed at a final war-ending deal. The framework covers hostilities, Lebanon and Hezbollah, the Strait of Hormuz, oil sanctions and reconstruction issues.

On Monday, technical talks in Switzerland produced what Vice President JD Vance called a “very, very good day.” Iran agreed to allow International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors back, a de-confliction cell was established to monitor the Lebanon ceasefire, and discussions continued over keeping the Strait of Hormuz open. On Tuesday, Pezeshkian traveled to Pakistan for follow-up talks with mediators from Qatar and Pakistan.

For markets, the message is clear: geopolitical relief helped earlier, but Tuesday’s trade was dominated by domestic financial conditions and chip-sector stress. Micron’s June 24 report is now the next major test for the AI trade, while the Fed’s hawkish turn raises the bar for any quick rebound in risk assets.