TECH SELLOFF: Software, Chip Stocks Plunge on AI, Rate Fears...

Software and semiconductor stocks typically move on different signals—software thrives when interest rates fall and companies prioritize efficiency, while chip demand tracks hardware cycles and manufacturing. Friday's joint decline suggests broader market anxiety overrode their usual divergence, likely driven by concerns about AI spending returning diminishing profits and uncertainty over Federal Reserve rate policy affecting valuations across the tech sector. When growth-dependent industries sell off together despite structural differences, it signals investors are rotating out of tech risk wholesale rather than making selective bets.