Finance

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.2% due to intense selling pressure across the semiconductor ecosystem. Chip giant Nvidia shed roughly 5% following reports that a Chinese firm successfully commercialized homegrown chipmaking equipment. Concurrently, data storage producer SanDisk plunged 11% to rank as the worst performer in the S&P 500, triggered by broader concerns over soft memory demand.

Market participants rotated out of AI-centric hardware and into resilient software companies like ServiceNow and Salesforce, which helped erase earlier seasonal losses. In mega-cap equities, Apple advanced over 1% to reclaim its position as the world's most valuable company ahead of its quarterly report. Investors are monitoring upcoming results from tech giants to justify premium valuations amid high capital expenditure trends.

Digital assets stabilized with Bitcoin hovering near the $65,000 threshold and Ethereum holding above $1,940, benefiting slightly from relaxed geopolitical tensions. In the options space, traders noticeably reduced short-term downside hedges, allowing the put/call ratio to plummet toward 0.52. This positioning implies that digital asset markets expect a relatively calm reaction to the Federal Reserve's upcoming interest rate announcement.