Intel Slides 3% as Chip Stocks Sell Off With Yields and Oil Higher; NVIDIA and AMD Slip

Chip stocks are under pressure as rising long-term Treasury yields and a sharp jump in oil prices revive inflation worries, with the selling reaching the artificial intelligence (AI) trade hardest. Intel (NASDAQ:INTC | INTC Price Prediction) stock is at $109.87, down 3%, a bigger drop than the rest of the chip group is taking.

Meanwhile, NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) stock is at $234.02, down 1%, a smaller decline than Intel shares are posting. Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) stock trades at $632.96, down 2%, a drop that lands between the other two chip names.

Checking in on semiconductor stocks generally, the iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX) is at $572.20, down 2%, confirming that the weakness runs across the chip sector. The Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) is down 0.6% to $753.46, a far milder slip that shows tech equities overall holding up better than semiconductors.

Yields and Oil Hit the AI Chip Trade

Semiconductor names are being sold together as long-term yields climb and oil moves sharply higher, a pairing that revives worries about stubborn inflation. Higher yields raise the rate used to discount future profits, which tends to weigh hardest on growth stocks whose valuations lean on earnings several years out.

AI chip leaders fit that description (the power, cooling, and networking suppliers behind the expansion tend to hold up better on days like this, a group we profiled in a free report on seven AI infrastructure names that aren’t chipmakers), so they’ve become the first place sellers turn when rate fears flare.

Terafab Puts Intel’s Role in Question

Elon Musk said this week that his own companies will build and operate the planned Terafab AI chip complex in Texas, pushing back on suggestions that a rival foundry would own and run it and noting that another chipmaker could at most sublease part of the site.

Intel is a partner in the project and has said it will remain involved. That leaves the size of Intel’s eventual role unresolved.

Foundry Exposure Sets Intel Apart

Intel both designs chips and runs its own fabrication plants, and the company is building a contract manufacturing business that produces semiconductors for outside customers. A marquee partner win or loss therefore moves Intel’s investment case in a way it wouldn’t for a company without fabs. NVIDIA and AMD design chips and have them manufactured elsewhere, which is why a foundry partnership question lands squarely on Intel.

Falling harder than NVIDIA shares, AMD shares and both funds, Intel stock is showing what a crowded recovery trade looks like on a risk-off day. Yet, the same foundry exposure that magnifies the downside is also what gives Intel room to recover ground quickly if its Terafab role holds up.

What to Watch Next

Treasury yields and oil prices remain the swing factors for chip stocks, since a decline in either could ease the pressure on high-multiple names. Investors can watch for whether the iShares Semiconductor ETF stabilizes, which could signal the sector selling is losing force.

Fresh detail on the Terafab arrangement could clarify how large a role Intel ultimately keeps. Shareholders may want to keep an eye on whether Intel’s partnership language firms up or softens, since that answer bears directly on the foundry story. Any update from the company itself could carry more weight than the broader rate backdrop.

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