Chipmaker Stocks Sink On ASML Earnings Leak, Oil Eyes Worst 1-Day Drop This Year, Small Caps Rally: What's Driving Markets Tuesday?

A wave of market-relevant news fueled an active trading session on Wall Street Tuesday, with large-cap indices falling due to sharp declines in tech and energy stocks, while small-caps outperformed, led by gains in regional banks.

At the forefront of the headlines is the massive plunge in ASML Holding NV (NASDAQ:ASML) shares. The Dutch chipmaker’s stock nosedived over 16% after a technical error prematurely revealed its third-quarter earnings, originally scheduled for Wednesday, on the company’s website.

The report disclosed weaker-than-expected guidance for 2025, leading to the worst single-day drop in ASML stock since it went public in 2002.

ASML’s collapse sent shockwaves across the semiconductor sector, with the iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX) falling more than 4%, marking its worst performance since early September. Key semiconductor players were hit hard, with NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) down 5% and Arm Holdings PLC-ADR (NASDAQ:ARM) tumbling 7%.

Another underperforming sector was energy. Oil prices plunged 5%, setting up their worst trading day in over a year.

The sell-off followed a Monday’s report from The Washington Post, ...