AI-assisted research analysis by FutureKnowledge. Sources checked 3 November 2026. This is not investment advice.
Reviewed by FutureKnowledge: figures, dates and attributions were checked against the linked sources before publication.
The Nasdaq 100 entered a technical correction on Monday, 2 November, closing more than 10% below its 6 October record after a chip sell-off that has now taken about 12% off semiconductor stocks in three sessions. The index fell 1.39% to 27,989.82, and the slide spread to Asia on Tuesday, where South Korea’s KOSPI dropped more than 2% as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix fell.
What happened in the Nasdaq 100 sell-off
According to a BigGo Finance market wrap, the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.07% to 25,164.32 and the S&P 500 fell 0.51% to 7,541.40, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.41% to 51,983.98. TheStreet’s closing figures match those levels. The VIX volatility gauge rose 9.58% to 21.28. BigGo said this is the Nasdaq 100’s third correction of 2026, although the index is still up about 11% for the year.
Chip stocks did most of the damage. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) fell 3.37% to 10,328.33, following a 7.20% drop on Friday, 30 October, and closed below its 200-day moving average for the first time since June 2025, BigGo reported. A Bloomberg market wrap carried by FinancialJuice put the three-day decline in a key chip gauge at 12%. Among individual stocks, Marvell fell 12.72% after agreeing its $115 billion all-stock deal for Lumentum, Intel fell 8.80%, Oracle 8.85%, AMD 7.52% and Micron 5.85%. The largest names fell less: Nvidia lost 1.26%, Broadcom 1.18% and Microsoft 2.83%, while Amazon gained 2.20%.
Why chip stocks are falling
Most reports point to the same cause: growing doubt that the very large sums being spent on AI data centres will earn enough profit and cash flow to justify them. Three developments from the past week have added to that worry.
- Intel’s outlook. In its third-quarter release on 29 October, Intel reported revenue of $16.5 billion, up 21%, but guided fourth-quarter revenue to $15.0-16.0 billion, below the third quarter. BigGo also cited its forecast of negative cash flow for the year. Our earlier report covered Intel’s Q4 outlook miss.
- Oracle’s fundraising. Oracle’s $20 billion stock and bond sale showed how much outside money the AI build-out now needs. Seoul Economic Daily named it as a direct trigger for Tuesday’s fall in Korean chip stocks.
- Anthropic’s spending plans. SBS and CNBC-TV18 both cited Anthropic’s plan to spend more than $895 billion on future infrastructure, disclosed with its third-quarter results.
Interest rates are part of the story too. BigGo argued that in a high-rate environment, companies that depend on outside financing are being valued with higher discount rates. Even a sharp fall in oil did not help: crude fell more than 7% on Monday on hopes of progress in US-Iran talks, CNBC reported, yet tech shares still fell.
Asia follows: Samsung and SK hynix slide
The sell-off reached Seoul on Tuesday morning. The Korea Times reported the KOSPI down 145.02 points, or 2.48%, at 5,714.06 as of 11:20 a.m. local time, with Samsung Electronics down 2.95% and SK hynix down 3.8% at that point. The losses were deeper at the open: SBS reported Samsung down 4.91% and SK hynix down 5.37%, with foreign investors net selling 227.7 billion won on the main board and individual investors buying. CNBC-TV18 reported that Taiwan’s TAIEX fell 1.21%, while Japan’s market was closed for a holiday. These are intraday figures; closing levels may differ.
What the chip rout means for India
India’s market has so far moved the other way. The Nifty rose 387 points to 23,440 on Monday, its third straight gain, and the rupee firmed 5 paise to 94.90 per dollar, HDFC Sky reported, helped by lower crude prices. CNBC-TV18 said GIFT Nifty pointed to a positive start on Tuesday.
India has few listed chipmakers, so the direct hit is limited. The indirect links are mainly these:
- IT services: Indian software exporters earn much of their revenue from US technology and financial clients. If AI spending is cut back or questioned, client budgets could become more cautious, but that effect would show up over several quarters rather than in a single day’s trading.
- Foreign flows: When global funds cut their exposure to Korean and Taiwanese chips, some money can move into markets with less AI exposure, such as India. The reverse can happen if the sell-off broadens into a general flight from risk.
- Oil and the rupee: The same diplomacy that knocked oil lower also helps India’s import bill. That is currently offsetting the tech gloom.
Who is more or less exposed
As a general pattern, the most exposed companies are memory, networking and optical-component makers whose earnings depend on AI data-centre orders, and AI infrastructure firms that rely on borrowing. Very large platforms with strong cash flow fell far less on Monday. Markets with heavy chip weightings, such as South Korea and Taiwan, are more exposed than diversified or oil-importing markets like India.
Scenarios to watch
These are conditional scenarios to help frame the news, not predictions.
| If this happens | Possible effect | What it would signal |
|---|---|---|
| AMD’s 3 November results and guidance beat expectations | Some relief for chip stocks | AI demand still strong enough to support spending |
| Nvidia’s 17 November outlook disappoints | The correction could deepen and spread to Asia again | AI spending cycle cooling at the top |
| Bond yields and credit spreads keep rising | More pressure on companies that borrow to build data centres | Financing costs, not demand, becoming the constraint |
| US-Iran talks hold and oil keeps falling | Support for Indian equities and the rupee | Energy relief offsetting tech weakness for importers |
What to watch next
- AMD’s third-quarter results, due after the US market close on Tuesday, 3 November.
- The US midterm elections on 3 November, and the US jobs report on Friday.
- Nvidia’s fiscal third-quarter results on 17 November, the biggest single test for AI chip demand.
- Closing levels for the KOSPI and TAIEX, and foreign investor flows into India.
Bottom line
The Nasdaq 100’s move into a correction is less about any single result than about investors asking whether the AI build-out will pay for itself. Intel’s guidance, Oracle’s $20 billion raise and Anthropic’s spending plans have all sharpened that question within a week. For now the pain is concentrated in chip-heavy markets such as Korea, while India is being cushioned by cheaper oil. The next few weeks of results, especially AMD and Nvidia, will show whether the sell-off is a reset or the start of a longer slowdown in AI spending.
Method note
This analysis compared Intel’s third-quarter results release, AMD’s results-date announcement and Nvidia’s results-date announcement (primary sources) with reports from BigGo Finance, TheStreet, Bloomberg via FinancialJuice, the Korea Times, Seoul Economic Daily, SBS, CNBC-TV18 via TradingView, CNBC and HDFC Sky. Korean market figures are intraday on 3 November and are labelled with their times; where reports gave slightly different stock moves (for example Intel at 8.80% or 8.83%), the closing-wrap figure is used.