Nasdaq Slips as AI Optimism Meets Chip Rivalry

The cooling investor sentiment appears tethered to shifting competitive dynamics in the semiconductor sector. Markets reacted sharply to reports that China’s DeepSeek is currently developing its own proprietary AI chip, an advancement that threatens the current dominance of established Western hardware players. This development has injected new volatility into a market that had previously priced in near-limitless growth for AI-infrastructure stocks. While Samsung’s positive financial results suggested resilience in memory demand, the broader indices struggled to maintain momentum, underscoring a narrowing appetite for risk among institutional participants.