Chip ETF Weathers SK Hynix Turmoil and Geopolitical Jitters Ahead of Pivotal ASML and TSMC Earnings
Published on 07/14/2026 at 03:34 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
The VanEck Semiconductor UCITS ETF endured a turbulent Monday, swinging from a steep morning sell-off to a partial recovery as two powerful forces collided: a rout in South Korean memory-chip heavyweight SK Hynix and stronger-than-expected quarterly sales from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. The fund, which ended the session at €97.63, has two of the sector's most critical earnings reports staring it down within the next 48 hours — ASML on Wednesday and TSMC’s full results on Thursday.
The day’s volatility was sparked by a 15% plunge in SK Hynix shares on the Seoul exchange, which market participants attributed to aggressive profit-taking after the company’s blockbuster Nasdaq debut last week raised roughly $26 billion. The sell?off cascaded through the ETF’s top holdings: AMD slid 4.34% and Micron Technology dropped 5.52%, amplifying the fund’s decline to as much as 4.64% and pushing the net asset value to an intraday low of €96.70. The pain was compounded by a fresh geopolitical flashpoint — the US ordered a blockade of Iranian ports that disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, sending WTI crude oil more than 3% higher. Because semiconductor fabrication is extremely energy?intensive, rising energy costs added another layer of margin anxiety to an already jittery sector.
Yet by the close the ETF had clawed back most of those losses, finishing at €97.63. The turnaround came after TSMC reported second?quarter revenue of 1.27 trillion New Taiwan dollars, equivalent to roughly $39.62 billion, a 36% jump from a year earlier. June alone saw revenue surge 67.9% to NT$442.68 billion. The company’s dominant position as the world’s leading contract chipmaker — and its heavyweight weighting in the VanEck fund — acted as a stabilising anchor. Analysts had pencilled in lower figures, and the upside surprise reinforced confidence that demand for AI processors remains robust, with TSMC continuing to ramp its 2?nanometre fabrication capacity.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying VanEck Semiconductor UCITS ETF?
The institutional backdrop also remains firmly bullish. US?listed semiconductor ETFs absorbed a record $7.1 billion in a single day earlier this month, with the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) taking in $5.4 billion and the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) adding $552 million on July 8. Micron Technology reinforced that long?term commitment on July 9 by raising its planned US investment in fabrication and research to more than $250 billion by 2035, aiming to strengthen domestic DRAM supply chains for the AI era.
Against that longer?term optimism, the recent correction looks moderate. The ETF’s price is 12.19% below its 52?week high of €111.18 reached on June 30, but year?to?date it remains up 77.64% and has climbed 137.05% over the trailing twelve months. Technically, the fund trades 1.30% above its 50?day moving average of €96.38 and a full 45.44% above its 200?day average of €67.13, suggesting the broader uptrend is intact. Still, the annualised 30?day volatility sits at a lofty 63.93%, meaning sharp swings are unlikely to disappear anytime soon.
All eyes now turn to this week’s earnings duet. ASML, the Dutch lithography giant whose machines are indispensable for advanced chip production, will report second?quarter results on Wednesday. Options markets are pricing in an 8.36% swing in either direction, a signal that the report could quickly reset sentiment across the sector. The following day, TSMC will unveil its full second?quarter profit numbers and forward guidance. Together, these two reports — arriving within 48 hours — will provide the clearest read yet on whether the AI?driven chip cycle still has momentum or is entering a more uncertain phase.
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