Arm Holdings plc (NASDAQ: ARM) tumbled 7.6% on Monday, leading a broad semiconductor selloff triggered by fresh U.S.-Iran military tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and a steep decline in South Korean memory maker SK Hynix's U.S.-listed shares. SK Hynix fell roughly 9% after a 15% collapse in Seoul on its Nasdaq debut, dragging chip-equipment names and memory-adjacent stocks sharply lower across global markets. The S&P 500 closed down 0.79% at 7,515, the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.55% to 25,873, and the SOXX semiconductor ETF shed 4.77% to 553.61 - its worst single-session loss in over two months. Bucking the tape, enterprise software staged a notable counter-rally: Salesforce Inc. (NYSE: CRM) surged 4.84% after Guggenheim Securities upgraded the shares to Buy, while ServiceNow Inc. (NYSE: NOW) added 3.30%.
Today's biggest movers
| Ticker | Close | Day | 1mo | YTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $CRM | $171.22 | +4.84% | +2.87% | -32.49% |
| $NOW | $111.26 | +3.30% | +7.94% | -24.54% |
| $SNOW | $268.65 | +2.75% | +11.76% | +23.97% |
| $PLTR | $130.04 | +2.56% | -0.79% | -22.53% |
| $MSFT | $390.99 | +1.53% | +0.17% | -17.33% |
| $ARM | $298.99 | -7.55% | -12.63% | +160.60% |
| $ORCL | $131.54 | -6.47% | -28.55% | -32.79% |
| $INTC | $103.12 | -6.12% | -11.83% | +161.86% |
| $LRCX | $329.92 | -5.83% | -8.99% | +78.28% |
| $AMAT | $575.39 | -4.50% | +4.12% | +114.00% |
Arm tumbles 7.6% as AGI chip supply bottlenecks rattle investors
Arm Holdings plc fell to $298.99, its sharpest single-day decline since early June, as investors confronted two converging pressures: the macro selloff driven by U.S.-Iran military escalation in the Gulf and mounting evidence of supply-chain bottlenecks in Arm's newly launched AGI CPU platform. According to market analysts, demand from hyperscalers has outpaced available wafer, memory, and packaging capacity, raising the prospect of delayed revenue recognition on new chip contracts. The headwinds came despite a strong research consensus: TD Cowen raised its ARM price target to $475, UBS lifted its target to $470, and Bank of America moved to $460, all maintaining Buy-equivalent ratings ahead of Arm's July 29 earnings date. As recently as last week, ARM had been among the semiconductor sector's leaders following a round of Wall Street upgrades.
Oracle extends June rout, slides 6.5% on capex and workforce overhang
Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL) fell to $131.54, deepening a slide that has taken the stock down more than 35% since mid-June - by some measures its worst calendar-month performance in over three decades. Investor anxiety centres on Oracle's capital spending trajectory: the company reported negative free cash flow of roughly $24 billion in fiscal 2026, with capital expenditures rising 162% year-on-year to $56 billion, and management has flagged plans for an additional $40 billion in financing for fiscal 2027. The scale of the investment has unnerved shareholders even as operating results remain robust: fiscal 2026 revenue rose 17% to $67.4 billion, fourth-quarter cloud revenue climbed 47%, and full-year earnings per share reached $5.94, up from $4.46 in the prior year. Oracle also disclosed workforce reductions of approximately 21,000 positions, roughly 13% of its global staff. The next earnings date is September 9, 2026; 49 Wall Street analysts maintain an average 12-month price target of $261, implying substantial upside if sentiment stabilises around the capex story.
Intel slides 6.1% as PC demand weakness compounds chip rout
Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) closed at $103.12, extending a slide that has taken the stock from roughly $140 in late June to its lowest close in several months. Weakening personal-computer demand has been the persistent drag, with the consumer PC market failing to provide the revenue recovery Intel's production cadence requires. The analyst community is sharply divided: HSBC carries a Buy rating with a $200 price target - the most bullish stance on the Street - arguing the shares are materially undervalued, while Stifel analyst Ruben Roy maintains a Hold rating with a $120 target. The consensus across 49 analysts sits near $102, roughly in line with Monday's close. Intel is set to report second-quarter results after the market close on July 23, the next major catalyst for the stock.
Salesforce gains 4.8% on Guggenheim upgrade and U.S. Air Force contract win
Salesforce was Monday's standout gainer among large-cap technology names, closing at $171.22 after Guggenheim Securities upgraded the shares from Neutral to Buy with a price target of $228. The upgrade rested on a contrarian read of AI's impact on enterprise software demand: Guggenheim's analysts argued the bear case - that large language models would commoditise workflow automation and erode Salesforce's core business - was unrealistic, pointing to the company's deep integration with enterprise data and durable customer switching costs. A separate catalyst came from the federal market: the U.S. Air Force's 441st Vehicle Support Chain Operations Squadron announced it has deployed Salesforce's Missionforce National Security platform to manage a $13.5 billion, 84,000-vehicle fleet. CRM remains down 32.49% year-to-date from January levels, with the Street consensus near $245, and hyperscalers have been ramping enterprise AI platform commitments - a tailwind Guggenheim cited in its demand thesis. The next earnings date is September 2, 2026.