Shares of US chipmakers come under pressure after China retaliates with tariff hikes

U.S. markets closed lower Friday after China announced steep tariff hikes on American goods, targeting semiconductors manufactured in the U.S. Texas Instruments fell 6.8%, Intel dropped 3.7%, and GlobalFoundries declined 2.4% amid fears of disrupted trade flows.

Shares of Nvidia and TSMC rose, buoyed by their offshore manufacturing. Analysts warn of escalating uncertainty in the sector, with sentiment now tightly linked to any progress on U.S.-China trade negotiations.

Shares of U.S. chipmakers with domestic manufacturing operations came under sharp pressure on Friday after China announced a steep escalation in tariffs on American goods, stoking fresh concerns over the ongoing trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies.

Beijing said it will raise duties on U.S. imports from 84% to 125%, a move widely interpreted as a direct response to Washington’s earlier tariff measures. The China Semiconductor Industry Association clarified that the new customs rules would assess origin based on where chips are manufactured rather than the home country of the parent company—exposing firms with U.S.-based fabs to additional vulnerability.

Texas Instruments Inc. and Intel Corp. were among the hardest hit, with shares declining 6.8% and 3.7%, respectively. GlobalFoundries Inc. dropped 2.4%, while other chipmakers with manufacturing facilities in the U.S., including Analog Devices Inc. and Microchip Technology Inc., also traded lower. Skyworks Solutions Inc. and Qorvo Inc., both key suppliers to Apple Inc., were not spared from the selloff.

“This is an incredibly uncertain time for chipmakers, and this is certainly not going to help,” Wayne Kaufman, chief market analyst at Phoenix Financial Services told Bloomberg. “Anything that hurts semis more than they’ve already been hit is bad for the general market.”

Not all chipmakers were negatively affected. The tariffs exclude companies that design semiconductors but do not manufacture them domestically. As a result, Nvidia Corp. rose 2.2%, while U.S.-listed shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. gained 3.3%. Analysts noted this divergence, highlighting the potential for non-fabricating players to benefit from redirected demand and capacity.

Experts believe that the market may be overreacting in the case of Texas Instruments, pointing to the company’s long-standing advantages in product quality, breadth, cost structure, and customer support. Though TI’s share in China could erode somewhat, TI benefits from product performance would be difficult for Chinese OEMs to ignore altogether, they point out.

Wall Street’s Magnificent Seven Wipe Out $2 Trillion in Market Value

The elite group of U.S. tech megacaps, popularly dubbed the “Magnificent Seven,” has witnessed a sharp $2 trillion erosion in market value since April 2, following renewed trade tensions triggered by President Donald Trump’s announcement of sweeping reciprocal tariffs on nearly all trading partners. The announcement sent shockwaves through global equity markets, igniting a broad selloff across the tech-heavy Nasdaq and shaking investor sentiment.

However, a partial recovery was seen this week after Trump announced a 90-day pause on the proposed tariffs — excluding China — providing temporary relief to a market already under strain from elevated interest rates and weak earnings expectations. The move helped the group regain over $1.5 trillion in value in just a few trading sessions. Still, the recent bounce has not fully reversed the broader decline that began earlier this year.

Despite the rebound, volatility remains elevated. Nvidia emerged as the standout performer, surging nearly 25 percent in the past five trading sessions alone, fueled by renewed investor optimism around artificial intelligence infrastructure and rising global demand for AI chips. The company, which gained over 183 percent in 2024, continues to command strong interest despite a year-to-date correction of around 20 percent, partly driven by competition from China’s DeepSeek.

Tesla, by contrast, has become the biggest laggard within the group. Its stock has fallen 34 percent since the start of the year, battered by disappointing delivery numbers, ongoing price cuts, and concerns over slowing EV demand. While the stock has rebounded 13 percent in the past five days, it remains deeply in the red, raising fresh questions about the company’s near-term outlook and market positioning.

Other members of the group, including Apple, Alphabet, Meta Platforms, Amazon, and Microsoft, posted gains this week in the range of 9 to 22 percent. Yet many remain underwater for the year. Apple has lost nearly 19 percent year-to-date, while Meta is down 10 percent despite a strong five-day rally. Microsoft, which saw an 11 percent gain this week, is still down roughly 7 percent for the year. Alphabet reiterated plans to invest $75 billion into data center expansion, while Microsoft is set to exceed $80 billion in infrastructure spending — both signaling long-term confidence in AI and cloud technologies.

The current pause in tariffs has been welcomed by global markets. Equity indices in the U.S., Europe, and Asia posted broad gains this week, with the Nasdaq jumping 12 percent in a single session — its strongest one-day rally since October 2008. Analysts, however, warn that the 90-day window could be merely a temporary reprieve unless meaningful progress is made on trade negotiations. Tariffs on Chinese imports have been raised to 125 percent, keeping geopolitical risk firmly in the picture.

With macroeconomic uncertainty persisting and tech valuations still elevated, institutional investors are likely to remain cautious. While the “Magnificent Seven” continue to dominate the technology and innovation landscape, their vulnerability to policy shocks, competition, and shifting demand is once again in focus. The coming weeks will test whether the recent recovery has legs or if another wave of selling is on the horizon.

Seven Companies Lose Over Rs 1 Lakh Crore in Market Cap Last Week

The combined market capitalisation of seven out of the top 10 companies declined by Rs 1,22,107 crore over the past week, with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) leading the losses.

Between October 7 and 11, Tata Group’s TCS saw its market cap drop by Rs 35,638 crore, settling at Rs 15,01,723 crore. RIL’s market cap fell by Rs 21,351 crore, bringing its valuation down to Rs 18,55,366 crore.

FMCG giant ITC also witnessed a significant decline, with its market cap decreasing by Rs 18,761 crore to Rs 6,10,933 crore. Meanwhile, Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) saw a reduction of Rs 16,047 crore in its market valuation, now standing at Rs 6,53,315 crore.

The market capitalisation of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) dropped by Rs 13,946 crore to Rs 6,00,179 crore, while ICICI Bank’s valuation slipped by Rs 11,363 crore, bringing it to Rs 8,61,696 crore.

HDFC Bank, the largest private sector bank in the country, saw its market cap decrease by Rs 4,998 crore, settling at Rs 12,59,269 crore.

On the other hand, Bharti Airtel’s market cap surged by Rs 26,330 crore to Rs 9,60,435 crore, while Infosys gained Rs 6,913 crore, taking its valuation to Rs 8,03,440 crore. The State Bank of India (SBI) added Rs 3,034 crore, pushing its market cap to Rs 7,13,968 crore.

Last week, the Nifty fell by 50 points, or 0.20 percent, to 24,964, while the Sensex declined by 307 points, or 0.38 percent, closing at 81,381. This marked the second consecutive week of market losses.

Despite the decline, RIL maintained its position as India’s most valuable company, followed by TCS, HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, and ICICI Bank.

Market experts predict that the outlook for next week will be influenced by key domestic and global economic data, including India’s WPI and CPI for September, loan and deposit growth figures, Q2 earnings of Indian companies, and updates from the US, China, and Japan.