Chip, Storage Shares Sink. SOXL Down Nearly 6%; Lam Research, SanDisk Down over 5%; Micron, ASML, Intel Down over 3%

TradingKey - Investors were once concerned that artificial intelligence would disrupt traditional software business models, weakening software companies' competitive moats and pricing power. Under this logic, cybersecurity stocks were also sold off alongside the broader software sector, with both CrowdStrike (CRWD) and Palo Alto Networks (PANW) pulling back significantly from their 2025 highs.

Within the AI data center supply chain, memory and storage are irreplaceable. AI accelerators require high-bandwidth memory to transfer data, while training and inference systems rely on high-capacity DRAM and enterprise SSDs to store models, data, and intermediate results. Among key players, Micron (MU) maintains a presence across DRAM, HBM, and NAND, whereas SanDisk (SNDK) places its main bet on NAND flash memory and enterprise data center storage. While both companies benefit from AI storage demand, what investors ultimately need to determine is whether the better allocation choice is a diversified platform or a pure-play NAND cyclical stock offering higher elasticity.

TradingKey - As demand for AI compute expands from model training to inference and AI agent applications, major cloud service providers are accelerating the deployment of custom AI chips such as ASICs, driving demand growth across chip design, advanced process technology, and packaging and testing.

Delta heads into October 9 earnings with strong premium demand, rising loyalty revenue and renewed fuel-cost pressure. Explore DAL’s fundamentals and key technical levels.

TradingKey - In the week ahead (October 5 to October 9), the Federal Reserve's policy path will remain the central focus of market trading. The U.S. will release the September ISM Services Index, August trade balance, consumer credit, initial jobless claims, and the preliminary October University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index. Meanwhile, the September FOMC meeting minutes, to be released on Wednesday, will offer investors further clues to gauge whether the Fed will continue raising interest rates in October.