Chip stocks tumble as NVIDIA slips below $4 trillion, markets fully price in December rate hike

[Update, November 15, 2026, 5:04] We corrected the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield on November 13 from "as high as 5.17%" to the closing level of 5.15%. The 5.17% figure was the intraday high from the previous session, not from this day.

U.S. markets did not see a broad sell-off on Friday, November 13, according to reports. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged higher. Semiconductor stocks, by contrast, fell sharply: the SOX (Philadelphia Semiconductor Index) dropped about 3.4% and AMD fell 8.75%, reports said. NVIDIA's market value fell below $4 trillion (about 640 trillion yen at 160 yen to the dollar), and the stock posted its sixth straight weekly decline, according to reports. Reports said two factors combined to drive the selling. The first was an AI-specific worry: what happens to NVIDIA after the departure of founder Jensen Huang. On top of that came the market's full pricing-in of a U.S. rate hike in December.

For Japanese companies: Companies that sell semiconductor manufacturing equipment, materials or components to U.S. chipmakers should check with their sales contacts after NVIDIA's November 17 earnings on major customers' order outlook for next fiscal year. Finance teams at companies paying for AI cloud services or APIs in dollars should recalculate next year's budget at 160 yen to the dollar. Companies with no business ties to semiconductors or U.S. AI services will see little direct impact.

Not the whole market, just chips

The key feature of the day's trading was that selling was concentrated in semiconductors. The Dow, heavy with economically sensitive stocks, edged higher, according to reports. The SOX, meanwhile, fell about 3.4% and AMD dropped 8.75%. Rather than a broad sell-off on fears of an economic slowdown, money pulled out of a single sector: AI chips.

NVIDIA was at the center of it. Its market value fell below $4 trillion, according to reports. The stock has fallen for six consecutive weeks on a weekly closing basis, reports said, meaning this is not a one-day correction but a sell-off that has stretched over a month and a half. When buyers step back from NVIDIA, selling tends to spread to other names such as AMD, which also makes GPUs for AI.

Reason one: concern over NVIDIA after Huang

The first reason is specific to the AI industry. According to reports, the market has not been able to gauge where NVIDIA is headed after the departure of Huang, who built the company from the ground up. It has reportedly not yet been decided whether a permanent CEO will be chosen from inside or outside the company. U.S. lawmakers have also asked Huang himself for an explanation, with a deadline of 8 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time on November 13. A House hearing is reportedly scheduled for December 1 and a Senate Banking Committee hearing for December 3.

The size of NVIDIA's commitments is adding to the unease. According to reports, NVIDIA has pledged $10 billion to Anthropic and more than $30 billion to OpenAI, and has $36 billion in off-balance-sheet guarantees. A change at the top raises the question of whether those commitments will be kept as they are.

Reason two: a December rate hike fully priced in

The second reason is interest rates. According to reports, markets fully priced in a 0.25% rate hike at the December 9 FOMC (the meeting that sets U.S. interest rates). The probability had previously been put at about 90%, so the remaining view that a hike might not happen effectively disappeared.

When rates rise, stocks bought on expectations of profits many years out tend to fall the most. AI chips are a prime example. The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield also rose to 5.15%, an elevated level. The selling was concentrated in chips because worries about AI's outlook and the weight of higher rates hit on the same day, according to the explanations reported.

Next test: NVIDIA's earnings on November 17

The next major driver will be NVIDIA's earnings on November 17. According to reports, Colette Kress, the chief financial officer serving as interim CEO, is expected to present the results in Huang's place. Beyond the revenue figures themselves, the question is whether the company can show that data center orders will continue after the change in leadership. Anthropic is scheduled to price its IPO the following day, November 18, putting several gauges of market sentiment toward AI stocks in the first half of the week.

In Japan, shares of semiconductor equipment and materials makers, as well as companies with large investments in NVIDIA, are likely to be affected by this trend. The yen is weak, trading in the 160-per-dollar range, which keeps dollar-denominated AI service fees expensive in yen terms.

What has not been confirmed

All figures and explanations in this article are based on reporting in market wrap-up articles and have not been verified against official exchange data or company announcements. The Dow closed up 0.10% at 52,347.55, the S&P 500 fell 0.40% to 7,561.67, and the Nasdaq fell 0.91% to 25,136.27, while NVIDIA fell 2.01% on the day. AMD's decline was reportedly a pullback after the stock had gained about 30% in the week through the previous day. We could not confirm NVIDIA's exact market value in the text of the sources. It is also not yet known whether Huang responded by the congressional deadline.

Sources: Capp Notes, StockTitan, Alain Guillot