Nasdaq falls as AI slowdown fears weigh on Nvidia, chipmakers

The Nasdaq Composite opened sharply lower on September 14, 2026, and never recovered, closing down roughly 1% to 1.3% as a broad selloff swept through AI-related technology stocks. The trigger was uncomfortable: a public call from prominent AI executives urging a deliberate slowdown in the development of advanced AI models, citing what they described as serious safety risks.

What actually happened in the market

Nvidia bore the sharpest immediate pain among large-cap names, with shares falling between 3% and 3.7% in early trading, pushing the stock to its lowest level in three weeks. The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index, which tracks the broader chip sector, fell a more dramatic 5.5% to 6%.

AMD, Intel, Marvell, and Broadcom each declined between 5% and 8%.

The broader indices held up relatively better. The S&P 500 fell approximately 0.6% to 0.7%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped just 0.2% to 0.3%.

The pain extended well beyond US borders. South Korea’s KOSPI index fell more than 3%, reflecting that country’s deep exposure to semiconductor manufacturing and memory chips. Major Taiwanese and European chip firms also declined.

The safety argument and why it spooked investors

Senior figures at leading AI organizations argued that the pace of advancement in large-scale models has outrun the field’s ability to understand and control the risks involved.

Analysts pushed back on the severity of the selloff, noting that Nvidia’s order backlog is reportedly in the trillions of dollars.

Oil prices rising above $108 per barrel added a secondary layer of pressure ahead of a scheduled Federal Reserve meeting. Higher energy costs complicate the inflation picture, which in turn complicates the Fed’s calculus on interest rates. Growth stocks with elevated valuations, the category that includes most AI-adjacent chipmakers, are particularly sensitive to interest rate expectations.

What investors should watch from here

What will matter in the coming weeks is whether enterprise customers show any signs of reducing planned expenditure. Capital spending announcements from major cloud providers, quarterly earnings guidance from chipmakers, and any formal policy responses to the safety concerns raised by AI executives will all serve as cleaner signals than a single afternoon of trading.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.