The losses continue to rack up for the Dow Jones Industrial Average as it reached a 405-point loss before Monday noon Eastern Time with semiconductor ETFs also taking a hit as trade concerns turn their attention to the technology sector.
The U.S.-China trade tensions went up another notch as U.S. President Donald Trump purportedly threatened to restrict Chinese investments in U.S. technology companies. In turn, the NASDAQ opened in the red for the third time, dropping over 150 points with semiconductor companies like Intel and Micron taking the brunt of the market punishment unleashed on the tech sector.
Related: Dow Slides 300 Points as Trade Tensions Ramp Up
As such, semiconductor ETFs responded negatively with iShares PHLX Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ: SOXX) down 3.86%, VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (NYSEArca: SMH) down 3.98%, and Direxion Daily Semicondct Bull 3X ETF (NYSEArca: SOXL) down big at 11.59%.
Chris Caso, Raymond James managing director and analyst, was flummoxed by the trade concerns affecting the chipmaking industry as a whole.
“In terms of how it plays out, I think it’s incredibly difficult to figure this out,” said Caso. “Every single day, a different piece of news is moving in a different direction.”