(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Milano, 17 lug - US shares were trading broadly lower at midday as chip stocks sold off around the world amid concerns over AI spending.

Intel was losing 3.63%, AMD was 2.97% lower and Nvidia was down 1.77%.

Major indices are heading for weekly losses as shares in semiconductor producers and adjacent companies sold off also in the previous session, weighing on the broader market.

While a disappointing third quarter forecast from Netflix put the broader tech sector under pressure. The streaming giant was down 8.78%.

Since the start of the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq are down 0.2% while the S&P 500 is off by 0.6%.

A further escalation of tensions in the Middle East, with the US and Iran exchanging strikes for a sixth consecutive day, also weighed on sentiment.

On the data front, consumer sentiment rose more than expected in July and import prices unexpectedly rose in June as a drop in energy costs was more than offset by a jump in costs of goods from China.

Also, housing starts rose far more than expected, posting a 19% jump in June.

While industrial production rose slightly less than expected 0.1% month on month in June.

At 1523 GMT, the Dow Jones was down 104.34 points, or 0.20%, at 52,448.63 points.

The S&P 500 was 65.51 points, or 0.87%, lower at 7,468.26 points.

The Nasdaq was losing 403.83 points, or 1.56%, at 25,478.12.

points.

(RADIOCOR) 17-07-26 17:33:43 (0494) 5 NNNN