US stocks sink this week, semiconductors walloped amid sell-off

US equities closed Friday in negative territory with the Nasdaq leading declines (-1.4% daily, ~3% weekly) as the SOX semiconductor index entered bear market territory following a sharp sell-off in memory and chip stocks. Semiconductor names were hammered—SanDisk fell 30%, GlobalFoundries and the DRAM memory ETF each dropped 16%—while defensive sectors like energy, real estate, staples, and healthcare posted weekly gains.

Why it matters: Software stocks outperformed the broader market with modest gains, and crypto was roughly flat over the week as Bitcoin held near $64,000; China markets showed uncorrelated gains heading into earnings season.