Tech rout deepens as rate-hike fears shadow AI chip boom

Tech stocks led Friday’s market slide as investors priced in a higher-for-longer path for Federal Reserve rate hikes, dampening optimism around the AI-driven chip boom. The Nasdaq fell about 4%, the S&P 500 dropped 2.6%, and the Dow slid 1.35%. Chipmakers like Micron, Intel, Cisco and Nvidia led the losses after Broadcom’s weak guidance sparked a wider selloff, while AI-heavy giants such as Meta, Amazon and Microsoft also declined modestly. A stronger-than-expected jobs report pushed the 10-year yield higher, reinforcing rate-hike expectations, though analysts note the bar to hikes remains high and cuts aren’t imminent.