Analysis: The counter-trend decline in the storage and semiconductor sectors is due to heightened regulatory concerns from the Democratic Party, rather than deteriorating demand.

November 5th - As US stocks rebounded sharply today, the storage and semiconductor sectors bucked the trend and fell significantly:

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index extended its decline to 5%. Marvell Technology Group (MRVL.O) dropped over 9%, Micron Technology (MU.O) fell over 6%, Intel (INTC.O) declined over 5%, and NVIDIA (NVDA.O) and Broadcom (AVGO.O) each fell over 2%.

Seagate Technology (STX) fell 6.82%; Western Digital (WDC) dropped 5.54%; SanDisk (SNDK) declined 8.20%; SK Hynix ADR (SKHY) fell 4.77%.

Analysts believe that after the Democratic sweep of Congress, investors are concerned about increased regulatory scrutiny, approval restrictions, and heightened local opposition to AI data center construction in the future, which could slow infrastructure buildout and has dampened related stock prices in the short term.

Recent earnings/guidance from SK Hynix, Samsung, Micron, and others all emphasized strong AI demand, sold-out HBM and server products, and high profit margins. Institutions (such as JPMorgan, TrendForce, etc.) also view fundamentals as solid, with prices still having upside room in 2027 and overall market size significantly revised upward. There has been no substantial slowdown on the demand side; AI remains the absolute main theme, and the logic of shortage and price increases remains intact. The recent decline in storage stocks is more a market emotional reaction to the sustainability of AI capital expenditure, financing pressures, valuation corrections, and post-election regulatory risks, rather than a deterioration in demand itself.