Key Highlights

● Marvell fell Friday as chip stocks extended a losing streak across AI-linked names.

● Reports counted an eighth or ninth straight decline; one called it the longest since 2008.

● CoreWeave's debt load of more than $50 billion drew particular scrutiny.

● Meta Platforms starts Big Tech earnings Oct 21; the Fed decides Oct 28.

Another down day for AI chips

Marvell Technology (NASDAQ:MRVL) fell on Friday, according to market reports, as chip stocks extended a losing streak that has dragged on AI-linked semiconductor names. The decline was tied to the broader chip selloff rather than to any Marvell-specific news.

Marvell designs chips for data infrastructure, including custom AI accelerators built for large cloud companies, optical and electrical networking components that move data inside and between data centers, and storage controllers. That mix has made it a closely watched AI play, and on Friday it traded in step with the rest of the group.

How long the streak has run

Sources disagreed on the exact length of the semiconductor losing streak. Some reports said the sector's benchmarks fell for an eighth straight session. Another described a ninth straight decline, which it said would be the first such run since 2006, while a further report called it the longest losing streak since 2008. On Thursday, one report said the eight-session streak was the longest since September 2015.

Whatever the count, the breadth of Friday's decline was clear. All 30 members of the PHLX Semiconductor Index fell, and the index closed at 11,137.29. Market data showed 57 of 60 stocks in a broader semiconductor basket falling during the session.

Peers across the board

Marvell had plenty of company. Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) sank, Arm Holdings (NASDAQ:ARM) tumbled, Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) fell and KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) declined. Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) slid on worries about Chinese memory maker CXMT. Coherent (NYSE:COHR), an optical networking supplier, fell on rotation and profit-taking in optical and AI infrastructure.

A published report said the week's rotation erased more than $1 trillion from semiconductor and AI-related stocks.

The financing debate

According to market commentary, investors moved from asking what AI can do to asking how it will be financed. AI infrastructure companies that rely on borrowing, such as CoreWeave (NASDAQ:CRWV), were hit hardest, and concern spread to the suppliers that sell chips into their data centers. CoreWeave's debt load of more than $50 billion drew particular scrutiny.

Goldman Sachs published a note describing hedge-fund selling of AI names as a "tactical rotation" away from smaller AI names. Not everyone saw the selloff as fundamental. A BofA Securities analyst said, "First of all, this is more sentiment driven. This is not about fundamentals."

The index backdrop

The Nasdaq-100 fell sharply on Friday, though reports differed on the size of the move, and posted a steep weekly loss. The Nasdaq Composite tumbled 572.99 points to 26,140.03, while the S&P 500 dropped 84.62 points to 7,659.44. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 175.28 points to 52,002.41, supported by energy and financials.

The 10-year Treasury yield eased over the week, finishing near 5.1. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh said in Bangkok, "I don't prejudge meetings."

Marvell Looks to Meta and a Streak Break

Whether the chip losing streak breaks will be a closely watched signal, and the Federal Reserve's rate decision on October 28 is also on the calendar. Investors will look to next week's Big Tech earnings for evidence on AI spending, starting with Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), a key buyer of custom silicon and networking gear, on October 21, the same day Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) and Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN) report.