Chip stocks break a bear trap after a $2.6 trillion rout — here are the levels bulls need to hold

Chip bulls sprang a bear trap on Tuesday. Two sessions later, the floor under it is cracking. The PHLX Semiconductor Index (^SOX) is down about 3% after dipping to 11,000 — the support that rescued the group twice since September. A bear trap is a breakdown that quickly reverses, catching traders who bet on further losses. This one only works if that floor holds. The damage is piling up. All 60 stocks in a Yahoo Finance chip basket are down since Oct. 6, erasing about $2.7 trillion in market value. Lam Research (LRCX) and Applied Materials (AMAT) have each lost nearly 30% in that span, and AMD (AMD) lost nearly 20%. Nvidia (NVDA) is off a milder 9%, but on its size, that's more than $500 billion. (LRCX ) Go deeper with AlphaSpace 237.70 -23.11 (-8.