On July 13, U.S. Eastern time, all three major U.S. stock indexes closed lower, with technology stocks becoming the core force dragging the broader market down. By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 138.37 points, down 0.26%, to 52,498.64; the S&P 500 fell 60.05 points, down 0.79%, to 7,515.34; and the Nasdaq Composite plunged 408.43 points, down 1.55%, to 25,873.18.

Mega-cap tech stocks saw mixed performance, with Microsoft, Amazon, and Apple closing slightly higher, but Tesla and Nvidia fell more than 3%, while Google and Meta dropped more than 1%. Chip stocks were hit by a wave of concentrated selling: the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index slumped 4.78%, becoming the “hardest-hit” area of this pullback. Arm fell more than 7%, Intel fell more than 6%, and AMD and Micron Technology fell more than 4%. Memory and optical communications sectors also dropped in sync, with SanDisk (over 12%) crashing, SK Hynix ADR falling more than 9%, and Astera Labs dropping more than 12%.

This tech selloff was mainly driven by the dual pressure of geopolitical conflict and rate-hike expectations. On the one hand, the escalation of the U.S.-Iran conflict pushed international oil prices sharply higher: WTI crude oil futures closed up 9.42%, and Brent crude surged 9.59%, significantly hitting market risk appetite. On the other hand, the surge in oil prices intensified worries about inflation. Fed Governor Waller issued hawkish signals, saying that if pressure from core inflation persists, the Fed may need to raise rates soon, causing market expectations for rate hikes to heat up rapidly.

Against the backdrop of rising interest rates and geopolitical disruptions, high-valuation growth stocks such as AI and semiconductors—whose investors had already built up large unrealized gains—faced profit-taking. The market shifted from a “growth narrative” to a stringent focus on “earnings verification,” and tech sector volatility may continue to be amplified in the short term.