Broadcom shares slumped 13.5 per cent in premarket trading after the chipmaker also stuck to its long-range forecast of $100 billion in sales from its AI chips. The stock, which has climbed nearly 55 per cent this quarter, could shave off over $270 billion in market value, if losses sustain through the session.
Other chipmakers also fell with Micron Technology, Advanced Micro Devices, Marvell Technology and Qualcomm down between 4.1 per cent and 7.4 per cent.
The record-setting rally on Wall Street has stalled this week, putting at risk the series of nine straight weekly gains for the S&P 500, as investors weighed a renewed flare-up in hostilities between the United States and Iran.
Although the two sides agreed to a ceasefire in early April, talks to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz have made little progress, threatening to keep oil prices elevated and stoke inflation.
“The shift feels less like a fundamental change in narrative and more like a combination of profit-taking, stretched positioning and a reassessment of geopolitical risks after weeks of almost uninterrupted gains,” said Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com.
An ISM survey on Wednesday showed the U.S. services sector expanded in May. Weekly jobless claims data, due later in the day, will be the last economic reading before Friday’s broader monthly employment report.The data will give new Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh a fresh read on the U.S. labor market as he heads into his first policy meeting this month, at a time when U.S. consumers are under strain from Iran war-driven price pressures.
Traders see a 75 per cent chance of a 25-basis-point rate hike before the end of the year, LSEG data showed.
Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin and San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly are also due to speak on Thursday, among the last appearances before the Fed’s pre-meeting blackout period.
Among market movers, CrowdStrike slumped 10.4 per cent after the cybersecurity company reported a rise in its first-quarter operating expenses.
An investor roadshow for Elon Musk-led SpaceX begins on Thursday ahead of its market debut on June 12. It aims to raise $75 billion in a record IPO that would value it at $1.75 trillion and rank it among the top 10 U.S.-listed firms.