Semiconductor ETFs Pull In $7.1B As Buyers Return To AI Chip Trade

U.S. semiconductor ETFs pulled in $7.1 billion on July 8, led by a record allocation into BlackRock’s iShares Semiconductor ETF as investors moved back into chip exposure after a sharp reset in AI-linked stocks.

SOXX recorded $5.43 billion in net creations, lifting assets to about $46.3 billion in one session. The intake was the fund’s largest daily inflow since its 2001 launch and more than triple its previous single-day record.

The leveraged trade also drew fresh capital. Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X Shares took in $1.28 billion, placing SOXL behind only SOXX and SPY on ETF.com’s July 8 creation table. VanEck Semiconductor ETF added $552 million, extending the move beyond a single fund.

SOXX was recently trading near $581.70, up about 3.5% on the day, while SOXL traded near $192.45 after a gain of about 10%. Nvidia, the sector’s largest AI bellwether, traded near $202.78 with a market value just under $5 trillion.

Buyers Step Into Chip Pullback

The inflows followed a drawdown across AI and semiconductor names that had already pulled Nvidia’s valuation back toward pre-boom levels. Nvidia recently fell about 16% from its May high, leaving the stock near 18 times forward earnings after roughly $1 trillion in market value was erased from the peak.

That reset did not push investors out of the chip trade. It brought capital back into broad semiconductor vehicles, with SOXX offering exposure to U.S.-listed chip designers, manufacturers and equipment suppliers tied to AI infrastructure spending. BlackRock’s fund page lists SOXX as tracking an equity index of semiconductor companies, with holdings across the sector’s value chain.

The move also builds on an earlier flow trend. Semiconductor ETFs had already become one of the strongest public-market expressions of the AI capex boom, with investors using chip funds while crypto ETF demand stayed more uneven.

Leveraged Flows Show Risk Appetite

SOXL’s inflow points to a higher-beta version of the same trade. The product seeks 300% of its benchmark’s daily return, making it a short-term vehicle for traders trying to amplify moves in the semiconductor index.

The July 8 creation table also showed $150 million leaving SOXS, Direxion’s 3x inverse semiconductor fund. That split put capital into bullish semiconductor exposure while pulling money from the bearish leveraged product.

Semiconductor stocks were already carrying a record market role before the latest inflow burst. The sector’s weight had expanded as SOX momentum accelerated, making chip shares one of the largest drivers of U.S. equity performance during the AI rally and pushing semiconductor market weight to record territory.