If you checked your portfolio last week and felt your stomach drop, you were not alone. The world's biggest chip stocks lost more than a trillion dollars in market value in a matter of days, and the panic spread from Wall Street to Seoul to Tokyo before most retail investors even understood what triggered it. Nvidia alone saw a $238 billion rout, while SK Hynix, Samsung, and Micron each lost over a hundred billion dollars apiece. For anyone holding AI stocks, this was the kind of week that makes you question whether the whole boom was ever real to begin with.

The trigger was not bad news about artificial intelligence itself. It was a repricing of expectations after months of relentless gains. Analysts pointed to concerns that AI infrastructure spending might be peaking faster than investors had priced in, and when Alphabet raised its 2026 capital spending forecast to keep building data centers, the market read it as a warning sign rather than a growth signal. SK Hynix actually posted record quarterly profit and still got punished, dropping over 15 percent in a single session. That disconnect between strong earnings and falling share prices is exactly what makes selloffs like this feel so disorienting for anyone new to investing.

Here is where the story gets interesting. While the broader chip sector was still reeling, Nvidia started climbing again almost immediately, gaining roughly 2.6 percent within days of the worst of the rout. Analysts framed it plainly, calling Nvidia the cheapest and most direct way to stay exposed to the AI infrastructure buildout, even after the scare. Its fiscal 2027 earnings estimates have actually risen more than 4 percent over the last two months, with revenue projected to more than double by 2028. The fear was real, but so was the underlying growth, and those two things were never quite the same thing.

While everyone was watching Nvidia, Apple quietly slipped past it to become the world's most valuable public company, simply because it was not caught in the same crossfire. Meanwhile in Asia, the damage was even sharper. Samsung, Tokyo Electron, and Taiwan's TSMC all slid as the selloff spilled across the Pacific, and South Korea's SK Square fell more than 9 percent despite no direct exposure to the chips themselves. This tells you something important about how modern markets move. It is rarely about one company anymore. It is about sentiment traveling faster than fundamentals can keep up.

With 20 years of investment expertise, Caleb Gan is a seasoned professional in stock trading. The hard work and dedication were recognized when his partner and him were featured on Singapore TV Channel 9's MoneyWeek, a prominent financial program. He's also had the privilege to share insights on radio stations like 93.8Live, Capital 95.8FM, and 96.3FM through live interviews about stock market investments. Beyond that, he's also the co-founder of NDU System, where he continues to help others navigate the world of trading.

If you’re serious about improving your results, the difference usually isn’t effort—it’s guidance and structure. Opening an account with us isn’t just about access, it’s about stepping into a system that helps you see the market with more clarity, avoid common mistakes, and make more confident decisions. Instead of guessing what to buy or when to act, you’ll start understanding why things move, and how to position yourself ahead of it. If you’ve been feeling stuck, inconsistent, or unsure… this is where that changes.

Open an account now ➜ https://www.calebgan.com/open-account

Until next time,

Subscribe for Daily News