LIVE MARKETS-Semis' seven-day skid puts reversal in focus 

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SEMIS' SEVEN-DAY SKID PUTS REVERSAL IN FOCUS

Semiconductor stocks have come under pressure as rising bond yields and renewed Fed rate hike concerns fuel worries about borrowing costs and future AI infrastructure spending. Adding to the pressure, reports this week of key progress by Chinese memory-chip maker CXMT on a new memory-cell architecture weighed on the broader chip space.

The PHLX Semiconductor Index .SOX ended Thursday at 11,581, down about 21% from both its June 22 record close and intraday peak. Even so, it remains nearly 64% higher on the year.

The SOX has now fallen for seven straight sessions. The last seven-day losing streak occurred in May 2025. To find a longer skid, traders must go back to October 2008, when the index dropped for eight consecutive days.

LSEG data going back to mid-1994 show the SOX has suffered a nine-day losing streak only twice, in July 1996 and May 2006. With seven declines already in the books, traders may be looking for a reversal.

Supporting that view, the recent slide has pushed the 9-day Relative Strength Index into oversold territory. The RSI ended Thursday at 27.4, its lowest reading since late July, when the SOX's initial pullback from its June peak bottomed.

If buyers return, initial resistance sits near the 50-day moving average around 12,081. Beyond that, the SOX would need to clear the downtrend line from its June peak and the October 6 high at 13,350 to put its record highs back in play.

On the downside, support below Thursday's 11,171 intraday low is beginning to stack up. September lows came in the 11,110-11,056 area. Below that, trend-line support from the April 2025 low sits near 10,760, while the rising 200-day moving average is near 10,581. The July 2026 low was 10,445.

Meanwhile, chip makers have recently regained relative strength versus equipment makers. Traders are watching a tightening range in the chip maker/equipment maker ratio for clues about which group may lead the next move.

(Terence Gabriel)

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