Chip Stocks Set for Longest Losing Run Since 2008: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — The final stretch of a jittery week on Wall Street saw stocks wavering amid an ongoing selloff in chipmakers that has left investors questioning the prospects for the artificial-intelligence trade.
While most shares in the S&P 500 rose, the gauge fluctuated. A rout in chip giants dragged into an eighth straight day – the longest losing streak since 2008. CoreWeave Inc. tumbled 7.5%, resuming a rout that’s been fueled by concerns over whether the massive buildout of AI infrastructure has outrun the ability of companies to get a return on their investments.
“This week’s price action suggests the market debate is beginning to shift,” said Fawad Razaqzada at Stonex Trading and Forex.com. “The question is no longer simply how large the AI opportunity can become, but how profitable the enormous investment required to realize it will ultimately be.”
Demand for chips and computing capacity remains strong, but investors also need to see adequate returns on the vast sums being committed to data centers, power generation, networking and other infrastructure. There are some signs these concerns are spilling into credit markets, Razaqzada said.
“That creates a difficult combination for the AI trade,” he added. “Higher interest rates reduce the present value of future cash flows, while simultaneously increasing the cost of financing the infrastructure needed to support the next phase of AI growth.”
Those worries revived haven flows into the Treasury market, with bonds paring their losses. Meantime, Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh did nothing to dispel expectations that the central bank will hold rates steady this the month.
In a moderated discussion Friday morning in Bangkok at the International Monetary Fund’s annual meetings, Warsh made no remarks on monetary policy or his outlook for the US economy, apart from reiterating that the Fed will deliver price stability.
“We made very clear that we would deliver price stability, and we removed a dose of accommodation about a month ago,” Warsh said. “I don’t prejudge meetings. I don’t believe in saying now what I might do at the meetings that we have in the balance of this year.”
The most interesting event this week was not the inflation data or the Fed commentary but the market’s reaction, according to Brian Jacobsen at Annex Wealth Management.
“When several AI-related stocks pulled back, investors moved money into healthcare, financials, materials, and smaller companies, which held up comparatively well,” he said.
On the economic front, US factory output rebounded in September after slipping a month earlier, showing producers are benefiting from resilient consumer demand as well as solid business spending amid a boom in investment in AI.
Corporate Highlights:
Tesla Inc. rolled out its Roadster sports car, showcasing a prototype designed in collaboration with SpaceX outfitted with air thrusters that jumped over other vehicles and flipped in midair. Shipping estimates for Apple Inc.’s first folding phone, the iPhone Duo, slipped into January within minutes of the company opening preorders on Friday, suggesting that strong demand and sharply constrained supply will make the $1,999 device challenging to purchase on its Oct. 23 release date or in the near future. Anthropic PBC has opened a line of communication with New York City Comptroller Mark Levine, following his letter earlier this week calling for the artificial intelligence lab to delay its initial public offering. ExxonMobil Holdings Corp. is the latest oil supermajor to signal soaring third-quarter refining profits as wars in the Persian Gulf and Russia crippled fuel-making facilities causing prices to surge. Netflix Inc. is replacing its chief creative officer with a veteran TV and film executive, Peter Rice, accelerating efforts to reinvigorate growth and reverse a slowdown in viewers and revenue at the streaming giant. MSCI Inc. adopted new rules that could ultimately push Strategy Inc. out of its global equity benchmarks, potentially triggering billions of dollars in stock sales and adding fresh pressure to the financing model behind Michael Saylor’s vast Bitcoin holdings. Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 fell 0.1% as of 10:32 a.m. New York time The Nasdaq 100 fell 1% The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4% The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.8% The MSCI World Index rose 0.3% Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.4% The euro rose 0.3% to $1.1257 The British pound rose 0.7% to $1.3370 The Japanese yen rose 0.2% to 157.74 per dollar Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin rose 0.4% to $82,306.32 Ether rose 0.9% to $2,473.33 Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced three basis points to 5.09% Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 3.41% Britain’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to 5.36% Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.5% to $97.47 a barrel Spot gold rose 0.6% to $4,196.06 an ounce ©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
