The Market Pulse: Weekly Sector and Tech Stock Movers

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I’m in the process of initiating a new Weekly Substack Section Called The Market Pulse

The Market Pulse delivers a data-driven breakdown of the week’s top stock movers across sectors, with a sharp focus on tech and semiconductors. Each issue highlights sector rotations, AI trade dynamics, and the companies driving market momentum — all in one concise, investor-ready update.

Here is a preview. Let me know your thoughts - send me a message. DON’T SUBSCRIBE to the Substack “Semiconductor Deep Dive” youre reading this on. The Market Pulse will have its own URL using the same mailing list you’re on now. It should be up and ready by the end of the week (depending on Substack timing), and you will see the latest version, which will sum up the Stock Market performance each Saturday or Sunday for the previous week.

Semiconductors Lead the Selloff as Investors Rotate Out of AI Trades - Week Ending April 20, 2025

Market Rotation Reveals Cracks Beneath the Surface

This past week saw the U.S. market fall -1.11%, but the modest headline decline masked a more significant internal rotation that exposed fault lines in tech and AI-related stocks. Energy and real estate were the week’s standout performers, each gaining more than 3.5%, while utilities and staples provided modest support amid rising bond yields. At the other end of the spectrum, technology stocks dropped sharply, down -3.38% overall, as investors began to reassess the durability of AI-led valuation multiples. The sharp move was not isolated — consumer discretionary also sold off as bond market volatility reignited concerns about stretched consumer balance sheets and potential stagflationary pressures.

Tech Breakdown: AI Leaders Start to Unwind

The rotation out of tech is not surprising in itself. What stood out, however, was the breadth and depth of the reversal. Within the tech sector, only one group — electronic equipment and components — ended the week in the green, while every other segment saw losses. Semiconductors led the retreat, dropping -6.48%, and were followed closely by software, which fell -3.01%. These two groups had been among the primary beneficiaries of the AI trade over the past year, but the selling suggests that expectations may now be outrunning actual delivery. Communications and IT hardware also declined, but to a lesser degree, while demand for analog components and infrastructure-related electronics remained more resilient.

Semiconductors See Their Worst Week Since Blackwell

If there was any doubt that the market’s enthusiasm for AI needed a pause, the action in semiconductors put that to rest. The overall semiconductor group declined -6.61%, while semiconductor equipment names fell -4.78%, marking one of the worst weeks for the sector since the Blackwell-related run began in late 2023. The breakdown was led by the biggest names in the space, including Nvidia, AMD, and Broadcom — all of which gave back significant gains. The catalyst was not any one specific earnings result or macro data point. Instead, this appeared to be a profit-taking event, sparked by rising interest rates, nervousness about China’s demand environment, and concerns that AI infrastructure buildouts may begin to plateau. That said, the downturn may offer select buying opportunities, particularly for companies with stable end markets outside hyperscaler capex.

A Few Winners Emerge from Outside the AI Narrative

Even in a broadly down week, there were a few winners among semiconductor names — though notably, most of them were outside the AI narrative. Tower Semiconductor posted a 4.6% gain, driven in part by rumors of renewed M&A interest and steady demand for analog and RF chips. First Solar also rose, up 1.6%, as clean energy stocks rebounded on expectations of federal infrastructure support and ongoing demand for U.S.-based solar manufacturing. Texas Instruments and NXP managed modest gains on the back of stable auto and industrial chip exposure, which has proven to be far more predictable than data center-related silicon. Qorvo also bounced slightly after weeks of selling, though the move appeared more technical than fundamental and valuation remains excessive for its forward prospects.

Sector Performance – 7-Day Returns

While Energy (+3.61%) and Real Estate (+3.57%) outperformed on the back of oil prices and yield-chasing behavior, Tech was the worst-performing major sector, falling -3.38%. Consumer Discretionary also declined sharply (-2.73%), underscoring how the market is beginning to reprice high-growth segments under a higher-for-longer rate scenario.

Tech Breakdown – Subsector Rotation Is Underway

Zooming in on tech, semiconductors (-6.48%) and software (-3.01%) led the decline. Communications and hardware were also down, while only Electronic Equipment and Components (+0.86%) finished the week in positive territory. The reversal in semis is particularly notable given their role in driving Q1 market returns — suggesting a rotation out of AI and into value.

Semiconductors: What’s Breaking Down?

Within semis, core chipmakers dropped -6.61%, with the selloff concentrated in AI leaders like Nvidia and AMD. Semiconductor equipment names also declined (-4.78%), dragged down by trade war concerns and softening foundry capex outlooks. With China’s chip purchases slowing and U.S. restrictions expanding, investors appear to be trimming exposure ahead of earnings season.

Individual Stock Performance

Top 5 Market-Wide Gainers

The broad market’s top performers this week reflect a shift toward defensive and profitable names. Eli Lilly surged nearly 15% after strong GLP-1 prescription trends and whispers of additional approvals in its obesity pipeline. Netflix rose on a well-received earnings report that highlighted subscriber growth and rising ARPU — a welcome surprise amid streaming fatigue. Exxon’s move was oil-driven, aided by crude’s steady climb above $85 per barrel. Philip Morris and J&J both benefited from a rotation into consumer staples and healthcare — sectors typically favored in a rising-rate, late-cycle environment.

Top 5 Market-Wide Losers

The week’s biggest losers weren’t small caps or marginal plays — they were tech royalty. Nvidia led the downside with a market cap wipeout of $230 billion, as investors began to question the sustainability of AI-fueled valuation multiples. Microsoft followed close behind, losing over $150 billion as its cloud growth showed signs of deceleration. UnitedHealth was hit hard after reporting weaker-than-expected Medicare margins, dropping over 24%. Amazon and Meta rounded out the bottom five, caught in the crossfire of profit-taking and rising Treasury yields that have compressed valuations across mega-cap tech.

Top 5 Semiconductor Gainers

Even in a down week for semis, certain names stood out. Tower Semiconductor rose after chatter about renewed strategic interest from major foundries. First Solar gained amid strength in renewables and talk of new utility-scale deals. NXP and Texas Instruments benefited from stable automotive and industrial chip demand — sectors relatively insulated from AI-driven volatility. Qorvo bounced after deep oversold conditions, though its long-term trend remains weak.

Top 5 Semiconductor Losers

AI’s biggest names bore the brunt of this week’s selling. Nvidia alone shed over $230 billion in market cap — reflecting both extreme positioning and renewed concerns over Chinese export restrictions. AMD and Broadcom also corrected sharply after strong Q1 runs. Meanwhile, Lam and Applied Materials saw losses as sentiment around WFE spending weakened, particularly in China and Southeast Asia. This marks a rare moment of synchronized weakness across both logic and memory-related players.

Investor Takeaway

The sharp pullback in semiconductor names this week reflects a broader phase of volatility that has been building for months. Earlier in the year, AI optimism — driven by rising data center capex and China’s smartphone trade-in program — pushed many semiconductor stocks to new highs. But since the DeepSeek controversy in late January, sentiment has turned more cautious. The episode raised real questions about how effectively AI capex is being deployed, and whether investors have gotten ahead of themselves in pricing in long-term adoption curves. With that in mind, this is a good moment to re-evaluate positioning across the semiconductor landscape — particularly for investors focused on materials, parts, and equipment (MPE) names.

Near term, we still expect AI chip suppliers to outperform broader semiconductors. The timing of the AI infrastructure peak continues to shift outwards, giving investors improved earnings visibility for companies exposed to high-end logic, HBM, and packaging technologies. By contrast, for commodity chip stocks — particularly DRAM and NAND — selectivity is critical. While production cuts are helping stabilize pricing, market conviction in the pace of recovery remains low. Inventory levels are still elevated, and visibility into capex and fab utilization is unclear. We expect clearer signals between May and June, especially as client inventories normalize and suppliers take further action. At that point, exposure to memory names may be worth increasing — particularly those that benefit from high operating leverage.

Within memory, NAND stocks may offer the best asymmetric upside. Valuations remain compressed after prolonged underperformance, but the introduction of new architectures — including hybrid bonding — could provide a credible catalyst. In past cycles, meaningful technology transitions have often occurred at inflection points in demand. If AI smartphones and advanced edge devices gain traction, NAND suppliers could be among the early beneficiaries.

More broadly, disruption tends to accelerate technical differentiation. Customers move quickly during transition periods, which puts pressure on suppliers to deliver. For semiconductor companies, this is not a time to scale back R&D — it’s a time to double down. Not every roadmap will succeed, but those with credible plans for next-generation packaging, die stacking, or energy efficiency are most likely to outperform. In a market that is now questioning future earnings, investors are likely to reward companies with a clear innovation path and product visibility.

The recent volatility is not the end of the AI trade — but it is a reminder that timing matters, narratives shift, and competitive moats are built through technical execution, not market euphoria.

I’ll continue tracking these themes in this newsletter — and if enough of you find this format useful, I’ll spin it off into a dedicated weekly market wrap focused primarily on semiconductors, AI hardware, and investor positioning.

With 40 years of experience in analyzing the semiconductor industry, I have established an extensive knowledgebase of companies and the sectors they compete, including the size, growth, end applications, and competitive market share of all participants.