Bloomberg Stock Movers
2026-07-17 · Hosted by — · Bloomberg / iHeartMedia
Executive Summary
Bloomberg's Stock Movers Report covered a rough pre-market for chip stocks, with the sector down roughly 2.5% as the semiconductor sell-off continued for a second day, though memory names like Sandisk began turning green — a potential bright spot. Netflix shares dropped nearly 10% pre-market after forecasting a second consecutive quarter of slowing growth, even as EPS beat slightly and revenue matched estimates; the stock has now slid more than 40% year-to-date. SpaceX shares fell about 3% after its Starship launch was scrubbed due to an engine ignition failure, the first test since its June IPO. Overnight news of Moonshot's new Kimi K3 AI model — said to rival OpenAI and Anthropic's best offerings — raised questions about whether U.S. companies might shift AI spending toward Chinese alternatives, with Apple notably holding up as an outlier immune to the CapEx-driven sell-off.
Key Stories & Changes
1. Chip Sell-Off Continues Into Second Day
Broad semiconductor gauge down about 2.5% in pre-market trading, continuing Thursday's more-than-4% decline
Nvidia (NVDA) down 2.7%; Intel (INTC) down a similar amount
Sandisk (SNDK) up about 0.3%, a bright spot as memory names begin to stabilize after the recent rout
Apple has been a notable outlier, holding near a record close, outperforming the Nasdaq 100 by 20% this month — its biggest relative gain in 20 years — partly because it has kept CapEx flat around $12 billion this year versus peers' aggressive AI infrastructure spending
2. Moonshot's Kimi K3 Model Raises Competitive Questions
New Chinese AI model from Moonshot reportedly rivals top offerings from OpenAI and Anthropic
Raises the possibility that U.S. companies could shift AI workloads toward Chinese models, which could cause Anthropic to pull back spending and unwind some of the CapEx commitments hyperscalers have made
3. Netflix Slides Further on Guidance
Shares down nearly 10% in pre-market trading, extending a year-to-date decline of more than 40%
Q2 EPS came in just above estimates; revenue matched expectations, but the company guided to a second consecutive quarter of slowing growth
Programming spend guided to grow about 10% this year, including investment in live sports and video podcasts, as the company seeks new hits after a "months-long drought" in the first half
Co-CEOs Greg Peters and Ted Sarandos discussed new subscriber-acquisition tactics, including potential free trials in some regions
Guggenheim and Pivotal both cut price targets on the stock following the print
4. SpaceX Starship Launch Scrubbed
Planned Starship test — the first since the company's June IPO — was scrubbed after some engines failed to ignite, triggering an automatic launch abort
Elon Musk said the company aims to attempt another launch within a few days
Shares fell about 3% in pre-market trading to around $127, well below the $225 intraday high reached after its $135 IPO debut — a decline of nearly $100 from peak
NFLX: Netflix — -10% (pre-market) — Guided to second straight quarter of slowing growth; two analyst price target cuts
SPCX: SpaceX — -3% (pre-market) — Starship launch scrubbed on engine ignition failure
NVDA: Nvidia — -2.7% — Broad chip sell-off continues into second day
INTC: Intel — ~-2.7% — Tracking broader chip weakness
SNDK: Sandisk — +0.3% — Memory names showing early signs of stabilizing
AAPL: Apple — Outperforming — Record close; up 20% vs. Nasdaq 100 this month, largest relative gain in 20 years
Trends Identified
1. Memory Stabilizing While Broader Chips Stay Under Pressure
While the overall semiconductor complex remained weak for a second straight day, memory names like Sandisk showed early signs of finding a floor, hinting the two-day rout may be bifurcating between memory (recovering) and logic/GPU names (still falling).
2. Apple's Low-CapEx Positioning Becoming a Relative Safe Haven
Apple's outperformance — its best relative month versus the Nasdaq 100 in 20 years — is being directly attributed to its comparatively modest AI CapEx footprint, positioning it as a beneficiary of rotation away from CapEx-heavy AI infrastructure names.
3. Chinese AI Model Competition as an Emerging CapEx Risk
The emergence of Moonshot's Kimi K3 as a credible rival to OpenAI and Anthropic introduces a new variable into the AI CapEx debate: if U.S. enterprises diversify toward cheaper Chinese alternatives, it could undercut the spending commitments underpinning the broader hyperscaler buildout narrative. ---
Sentiment Analysis
Overall Market Sentiment: Bearish (Tech-Led)
Pre-market sentiment was negative, driven by continued chip weakness and a sharp Netflix decline, though isolated pockets of stabilization (memory, Apple) offered some counterbalance.
Risk Factors Highlighted
Continued chip sector weakness: Broad semiconductor decline extending into a second day with no clear catalyst for stabilization.
Netflix growth deceleration: Second consecutive quarter of slowing growth guidance, plus analyst price target cuts, signals sustained pressure.
SpaceX execution risk: Scrubbed Starship launch adds to post-IPO stock weakness and raises questions about near-term program execution.
Chinese AI competition: Moonshot's Kimi K3 model could accelerate a shift away from U.S. AI providers, threatening hyperscaler CapEx assumptions.
AI CapEx unwind risk: Potential for Anthropic and others to pull back spending commitments if competitive dynamics shift toward cheaper alternatives.
This episode was covered in today's [The Market Signal — 2026-07-17](https://marketsignal.beehiiv.com/p/the-market-signal-2026-07-17), a cross-source synthesis of multiple podcast reports.