Chip stocks suffer worst stretch in 16 months as AI fatigue grips the market

Chip stocks have just recorded their worst stretch in 16 months, a move that reflects growing investor fatigue with the artificial-intelligence trade. The pullback comes as Wall Street grows less patient with the heavy spending that has powered the AI buildout, suggesting sentiment toward the sector may be shifting after a prolonged run.

Attention now turns to Anthropic's investor day, where anticipation is building for details on the company's plans and spending trajectory. For market participants, the event serves as a near-term test of whether enthusiasm for AI-related investment can be reinvigorated, or whether caution continues to spread across semiconductor names.

What to watch: whether the weakness broadens beyond chips into other AI-linked segments, and how companies frame the balance between capital expenditure and eventual returns. The episode illustrates how sensitive AI-exposed equities have become to any sign that spending commitments may outpace near-term revenue.