The whole tech universe went into free-fall this morning, with semiconductor names like LAM Research (-10%,), Nvidia (-7%) and Micron Technology (-7%) leading the Nasdaq down. Netflix fell by 5.3% as of 11:15 a.m., and Alibaba by 3.5%. The Dow-Jones Index was up, though, led by health insurers, life insurers and banks, and trailed by Visa, Apple and Boeing.
Nothing more seems to be at work than a rotation trade. Retailers had been one of the worst-performing sectors during the year to date, but today Macy’s, Target and Dillard’s were all higher by about 6%.