AI stocks continued to soar last year.
Shares of the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX +1.56%) were soaring last year, reflecting the continuing AI boom, and gains in top members like Nvidia (NVDA 0.29%), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD +1.79%), and Broadcom (AVGO +2.53%) helped drive the surge.
According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, the ETF finished the year up 40%. The chart below shows how the stock moved over the course of the year.
SOXX data by YCharts
What happened with the SOXX last year
If the chart above looks like a high-beta version of the Nasdaq Composite last year, that’s not a coincidence. Nearly all of the SOXX’s holdings are traded on the Nasdaq, and some of them make up a significant percentage of the index, including Nvidia and Broadcom.
As you can see, the SOXX started out strong before dipping in March on concerns about tariffs and a weakening economy. It then…
