The downward movement in Applied Materials is primarily driven by a broader technology and semiconductor sector correction, as investors lock in profits following a sharp industry-wide rally in the previous session. With the end of the month and quarter approaching, institutional portfolio rebalancing has intensified selling pressure across highly valued semiconductor equities. This sector rotation reflects growing investor selectivity regarding high-beta artificial intelligence trades.

Sentiments in the chip sector were further dampened by downstream pricing pressures. Reports that Apple raised prices on several premium hardware models due to soaring memory and storage costs have sparked fears that expensive AI-driven components are…