What Happened?

A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after fears of a global energy price shock hit the semiconductor sector following a sell-off in South Korea's stock market. 

The drop in South Korea's KOSPI index was triggered by fears related to an Iran conflict, which sparked concerns about a major price shock for liquefied natural gas (LNG). South Korea is one of the world's largest importers of LNG, so a sustained surge in energy prices could directly increase operating costs and squeeze profits for the country's semiconductor manufacturers. Major chipmakers like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which dominate the global memory chip supply, saw their stocks fall significantly. This negative sentiment spread to U.S. markets, affecting related semiconductor companies.

The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.

Among others, the following stocks were impacted:

• Semiconductor Manufacturing company Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT) fell 5.6%. Is now the time to buy Applied Materials? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Analog Semiconductors company Monolithic Power Systems (NASDAQ: MPWR) fell 5.4%. Is now the time to buy Monolithic Power Systems? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Analog Semiconductors company MACOM (NASDAQ: MTSI) fell 6.6%. Is now the time to buy MACOM? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Memory Semiconductors company Seagate (NASDAQ: STX) fell 5.7%. Is now the time to buy Seagate? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Memory Semiconductors company Western Digital (NASDAQ: WDC) fell 6.9%. Is now the time to buy Western Digital? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.

Zooming In On Western Digital (WDC)

Western Digital’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 43 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was 5 days ago when the stock dropped 4.2% on the news that the semiconductor sector tumbled as a 'buy the rumor, sell the news' event unfolded around AI-chip leader Nvidia, despite its strong earnings report. Even though Nvidia reported better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter results and provided upbeat guidance, its shares fell, dragging the broader market with it. The sell-off triggered a plunge in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index and pulled down peers like Broadcom, Micron, and AMD. Analysts suggest the focus for investors has shifted from Nvidia's stellar performance to broader concerns, including growing competition in the artificial intelligence sector and whether the high levels of investment in the AI space are sustainable. This negative reaction highlights a cautious sentiment, where even positive news couldn't sustain the sector's upward momentum.

Western Digital is up 33.2% since the beginning of the year, but at $250.07 per share, it is still trading 15.7% below its 52-week high of $296.56 from February 2026. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Western Digital’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $3,589.

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