The semiconductor sector was seeing broad weakness ahead of Thursday’s open, and was heading for a fifth-straight decline, as chip investors appear to be taking a breather after the recent sharp run-up. The VanEck Semiconductor exchange-traded fund SMH fell 0.6% in premarket trading, with only one of its 25 components trading higher. The ETF has lost 4.0% over the past four sessions, since it closed at a 17-month high on June 14, following a 26.6% surge in a month and 53.3% jump year to date as part of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. The lone premarket gainer was Advanced Micro Devices Inc.’s stock AMD, which tacked on 0.5% after falling 12.0% over the past four days, and 13.2% over the past six sessions since closing at a 16-month high on June 12. The ETF’s biggest premarket decliner was Nvidia Corp.’s stock, which shed 1.0%. It lost 1.7% on Wednesday after closing Tuesday at a record high, following a 40.1% run up in a month and a year-to-date rally of 200%. Meanwhile, futures ES00 for the S&P 500 SPX slipped 0.3%, putting the index on track for a fourth-straight loss.
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