Last Friday, chip stocks experienced another broad sell-off. Can the $950 billion order save the market this week?

Last Friday evening, the US stock memory chip sector was once again battered.

SK Hynix closed down nearly 9%, Sandisk fell nearly 11%, and Micron dropped almost 7%. Even more ironically, Intel, which had just released a quarterly earnings report that significantly exceeded market expectations, could not escape the downturn, with its stock price plunging over 7%.

Earnings beat expectations? Down. Met expectations? Down. Missed expectations? Even more down.

This bizarre situation, where stocks fall regardless of good or bad news, makes one wonder: has the meme coin culture from the crypto world infected the US stock market? Trillion-dollar companies are behaving no differently than meme coins with zero fundamental support — any hint of trouble is enough to trigger a sell-off.

The "All in AI" narrative can no longer command a 100% premium in the current market.

1. The Market Has Shifted: From "Stories" to "Returns"

Over the past year, the bullish logic for AI chip stocks was brutally simple: if your name was associated with AI, if you were buying GPUs, building data centers, or expanding HBM production capacity — your stock price would rise. The bigger the capital expenditure, the more excited the market; the more money burned, the higher the valuation.

But now, that narrative's shelf life has expired.

The market is transitioning from "listening to stories" to "demanding numbers." Investors are no longer satisfied with qualitative descriptions like "we are heavily investing in AI." They are starting to ask a sharper question: "After pouring in hundreds of billions of dollars, where exactly are the returns?"

Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, Apple — these AI giants are collectively spending hundreds of billions on data centers and chip infrastructure. But can the incremental revenue generated from AI services cover the increasingly heavy costs of depreciation, electricity, and leasing? This question is becoming the core variable determining the next phase of the AI narrative.

These tech giants are about to release their earnings reports one by one. Their answers to this question will likely determine whether chip stocks can emerge from the current quagmire or continue their downward descent.

2. The $950 Billion Deal: A Boon or Already Priced In?

Over the weekend, there was indeed a significant piece of positive news for the market.

SK Group and Samsung announced a massive $950 billion order from Nvidia and other tech giants in the US. Involving memory chips, HBM, and other AI infrastructure components, this is the largest overseas cooperation agreement in the history of South Korea's semiconductor industry.

When the news broke, the market hoped it would provide a catalyst for chip stocks to bottom out and rebound from their relentless decline. The price action at Monday's market open would serve as the direct verdict on the "pricing power" of this order.

But if we calmly dissect this deal, several issues emerge:

First, the $950 billion largely consists of letters of intent and multi-year framework agreements, with execution spread out until 2030. It does not represent revenue that can be confirmed in the next quarter, nor is it cash already in hand. Its direct impact on boosting stock prices is limited.

Second, the market has already fully priced in the "AI memory supply shortage." This contract merely formalizes a trend everyone already sees into a written agreement, providing no new "surprise" information.

Markets tend to focus more on information that exceeds existing expectations.

—It's about "positive news the market doesn't know," not "reiterating the consensus." When everyone already knows HBM is in short supply and that cloud vendors are aggressively placing orders, announcing a large contract has a naturally diminished marginal impact on stock prices.

Of course, given the extreme bearish sentiment currently surrounding chip stocks, this news could still provide a direct short-term boost to related equities.

3. Alarm Bells from the Options Market: VIX is Calm, but VXN Has Soared to 28

If you look at the S&P 500 Index, the market doesn't seem panicked. The VIX volatility index is currently around 18.57, relatively calm and far from the extreme fear zone.

But shift your gaze to the Nasdaq-specific volatility index, VXN, and the picture changes completely — VXN has surged to 28.39.

The widening gap between VIX and VXN is an extremely important signal. It indicates that market fear is not evenly distributed but is highly concentrated in the tech sector. While investors have limited concerns about the broader market, the anxiety surrounding chip stocks, AI concept stocks, and high-valuation tech names has reached a considerable depth.

In an environment of elevated VXN, short-term volatility for tech stocks could amplify further. Any earnings miss or negative macroeconomic headline could become the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back.

4. Final Thoughts: A Powerful Tool in Uncertain Times

The current market landscape is deeply fractured. The long-term narrative for chip stocks (sustained AI demand growth) and short-term pressures (valuation correction, earnings scrutiny, volatility spikes) coexist, with no one able to predict which side will prevail next.

In this environment, the most dangerous approach is "betting on a single direction and holding on for dear life." The wisest approach is to have the capability to operate in both up and down directions.

The BIT platform's options feature officially went live last week. Whether you hold physical chip stocks and want to hedge downside risk, or seek trading opportunities amidst volatility, you can utilize options tools:

• Hold the underlying stock + Buy put options: Insure your high-cost holdings, strictly capping potential losses.
• Buy call/put options in a single direction: Use a small premium to bet on a direction, with maximum loss limited to the premium paid.
• Buy both call and put options simultaneously: Profit from impending major volatility during earnings season.

In a market with unclear direction, those who have options can navigate through bull and bear cycles.

Risk Warning: Options are high-risk financial products. Their prices are affected by multiple factors, including the underlying asset, volatility, and time to expiration. It is possible to lose the entire premium paid. Please fully understand the product risks and make prudent decisions based on your own circumstances before investing.