Dow snaps three-day win streak as chip selloff drags S&P 500 and Nasdaq lower

The Dow Jones Industrial Average’s winning streak ended at three on October 13, 2026. The blue-chip index slipped approximately 0.2-0.4%, or around 137-180 points, as a selloff in chip stocks pulled the broader market down with it.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite also edged lower. The trigger was an unusual one: a semiconductor CEO talking down the very trade that has made his industry rich.

Chips take the hit

Semiconductor names led the decline after Broadcom CEO Hock Tan likened AI investing to “casino gambling.”

Tan’s comments landed alongside reports that Chinese memory chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies, known as CXMT, has advanced work on a new DRAM architecture. DRAM is the short-term memory that computers and AI servers lean on to process data quickly.

A stronger Chinese competitor in memory could mean more supply and less pricing power for incumbents.

Micron Technology, the largest US memory maker, saw its shares drop approximately 4-6%. The weakness was not confined to American markets, as memory and semiconductor stocks sold off globally.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, the benchmark that tracks the chip sector, extended its losing streak to five or six sessions. That marks its longest run of declines in over a year. The index remains up significantly year-to-date.

Earnings season gets off to a muted start

The pullback arrived just as third-quarter earnings season kicked off. JPMorgan Chase reported mixed results that failed to lift sentiment or offset the weakness in tech.

On October 12, the Dow climbed 0.38% to close at 51,850.55, capping three straight days of gains.

Treasury yields are hovering around 5.24%, a level that tends to weigh on high-valuation growth stocks.

A rotation, not a stampede

The session showed signs of investors shifting money rather than fleeing outright. Capital moved away from growth and technology stocks and toward value sectors such as energy and financials.

What this means for investors

The most important signal here may be the source of the skepticism. Hearing it from the CEO of a major chip company carries different weight, because it comes from someone with a direct view of customer spending and demand.

The CXMT development is a potentially structural one. Memory has historically been a boom-and-bust business where pricing swings with supply. A credible new competitor advancing DRAM technology could intensify competition and pricing pressure, which matters directly to companies like Micron whose margins depend on memory prices holding up.

Key items to watch include whether the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index can break its losing streak, how Micron and other memory names respond to further news on Chinese competition, and what the next wave of third-quarter earnings reveals about AI spending. The chip sector is still well ahead for the year, but the mood around it has clearly shifted from exuberance to scrutiny.