Why Advanced Micro Devices, Applied Materials, and Micron Technology Fell Today

Shares of semiconductor favorites Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD), Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT), and Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) plunged Tuesday following the August consumer price index (CPI) release, down 7.6%, 5%, and 6%, respectively, as of 1:11 p.m. ET.

The synchronous decline wasn't hard to figure out -- this morning's CPI report came in higher than expected. Since so much this year has been about inflation, and the Federal Reserve's response to that inflation, it's no surprise to see these tech stocks down big today.

The semiconductor sector isn't as expensive as other corners of technology sector, such as software or electric vehicles, but it was still heavily affected by today's news. Rising inflation and interest rates tend to hurt the value of growth stocks especially, which is perhaps why AMD, which trades at 34 times earnings, the most expensive of these three, is down the most.

Source Fool.com