US stocks opened mixed on Tuesday as weakness in chip stocks weighed on the NASDAQ Composite and S&P 500. The Dow Jones Industrial Average moved near record levels, supported by gains in health care, financials, and selected large-cap names.

Investor focus shifted back to the AI trade after reports said China’s DeepSeek was developing its own AI chip. The news added fresh doubt around demand for US-linked semiconductor names, even as Samsung posted a strong profit update.

NASDAQ Drops as Chip Stocks Pull Back

The NASDAQ Composite opened down 161 points, or 0.62%, at 25,960.13. The S&P 500 fell 20.8 points, or 0.28%, to 7,516.63. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 48.1 points, or 0.09%, to 53,104.06 at the opening bell.

Later in the morning, the Dow gave back part of its early gain and traded near the flat line. The blue-chip index had earlier touched a new all-time intraday high. The S&P 500 declined 0.5%, while the NASDAQ lost 1.3% as chip selling deepened.

DeepSeek AI Chip Report Hits Semiconductor Sentiment

Reportedly, DeepSeek was working on its own AI chip. The move could reduce its reliance on suppliers such as NVIDIA and Samsung. NVIDIA shares traded more than 1% lower as investors assessed the report.

The selling spread across major chip names. Micron fell about 7%, while KLA, Marvell Technology, Broadcom, and AMD also posted losses. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF dropped more than 5%, showing broad weakness across the sector.

Samsung Reaction Adds Doubt Around AI Earnings Bar

The pressure started in Asia-Pacific markets before reaching Wall Street. South Korea’s Kospi dropped nearly 5% after Samsung Electronics fell close to 7%. Samsung reported a sharp rise in second-quarter profit, but the market focused on spending plans and demand concerns.

Adam Crisafulli of Vital Knowledge said the Samsung reaction showed one of the main risks heading into earnings season.

“The reaction to Samsung speaks to one of the biggest risks facing markets over the coming weeks: Q2 earnings results are likely to be quite robust on an absolute basis ... but unlike with the Q1 season, expectations are presently very bullish.”

His comment pointed to doubt around whether strong earnings alone can support AI-linked stocks. The S&P 500 has moved much higher since the first-quarter reporting season, leaving investors with a higher bar for results.

Dow Holds Near Record as Investors Rotate

While chip stocks came under pressure, investors moved into other parts of the market. Eli Lilly gained more than 2%, while JPMorgan Chase and Microsoft also advanced. Walmart added more than 2% after the company announced price cuts on products such as ground beef and Coca-Cola.

The rotation helped the Dow stay near 53,000 even as the NASDAQ weakened. The move showed that selling was concentrated in AI- and chip-linked shares rather than across the full market.

Also Read: US Stock Market Today: S&P 500 and NASDAQ Rise as Chip Stocks Rebound, Dow Slips After Record High

Apple, Rivian, Amazon and Trade Data Stay in Focus

Apple drew attention after JPMorgan raised its price target to $345 from $325 and kept an Overweight rating. Analyst Samik Chatterjee said Apple’s revenue and earnings could be better than feared, even after a 20% price increase on iPads and Macs.

Rivian shares fell more than 13% in morning trading after the electric vehicle maker announced a public offering of 75 million Class A shares. The drop came after the stock rose 8.1% on Monday and gained 19% last week.

Amazon also stayed in focus after sources said the company planned to raise $25 billion through a bond sale. Its shares gained 0.8% in premarket trading.

Meanwhile, the US trade deficit rose sharply in May. The Commerce Department said the deficit reached $77.6 billion, up from a revised $54.6 billion in April. Exports fell 3.2%, while imports rose 3.3%. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected a deficit of $78.08 billion.

The market now shifts its attention to upcoming corporate earnings, which will determine whether the recent rotation out of AI chip stocks is temporary or the start of a broader change in investor sentiment.