Shares of foundry, fabricator and IDM chip companies are trading lower as investor concerns over Fed rate hikes and higher bond yields affect growth-oriented stocks that rely on demand from highly leveraged customers.

Stock Market Today, Sept. 16: Stocks Slip as Fed Raises Rates

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 25 basis points to 3.50%-3.75%, marking the first hike in three years. Major indices declined with the S&P 500 falling 0.45%, Dow Jones dropping 1.21%, and Nasdaq slipping 0.01%. AI stocks recovered slightly with Dell, Intel, and Nvidia finishing in the green. Traders are pricing in potential further rate hikes, which typically pressure equities in the short term but historically lead to gains within a year.

Stock Market Today, Sept. 16: Intel Jumps on SK Hynix Memory-Chip Manufacturing Talks

Intel stock surged 4.03% to $101.05 on reports of potential manufacturing talks with SK Hynix to produce memory chips domestically in the U.S. for the first time. Multiple analyst target raises, including Melius Research's $165 price target and potential $200 upside in two years, also drove the gain. The deal could strengthen Intel's foundry business and attract high-profile customers amid growing AI demand.

SK Hynix, Intel May Make Memories in Ohio: These ETFs Are Along for the Ride

SK Hynix and Intel are exploring U.S. memory chip production as demand for DRAM and high-bandwidth memory surges. Here are the ETFs to watch.

Why Marvell Stock Rallied Today

Marvell Technology stock surged up to 5.4% following reports of a potential deal between SK Hynix and Intel to manufacture memory chips in the U.S. for the first time. As a partner of SK Hynix working on data transfer acceleration, Marvell benefits from any steps to ease the memory chip shortage bottleneck in AI. While Marvell trades at a premium valuation of 34x next year's earnings, its record revenue and accelerating growth support the positive momentum.

Tower Semiconductor to Highlight its High-Volume Silicon Photonics and SiGe Solutions for AI Infrastructure, Telecom and Emerging Applications at ECOC 2026

Tower Semiconductor announced its participation in ECOC 2026 (September 21-23 in Malaga, Spain) where it will showcase its silicon photonics platform and SiGe BiCMOS solutions for AI infrastructure, datacenter, telecom, and emerging applications including near/co-packaged optics, DWDM lasers, optical circuit switching, and quantum computing.

Shares of semiconductor and chip-related companies are trading lower after AI executives signaled that the industry's growth may need to be slowed. The industry is also facing pressure as oil prices spike in reaction to the escalating conflict in the Middle East which can lead to inflation, tighter lending and reduced demand.