What Happened?
A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after investors took some profits off the table as markets awaited signals on future monetary policy from the Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole symposium later in the week.
The downturn in the market was largely attributed to a significant sell-off in megacap tech and chipmaker shares. Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and Broadcom all saw notable drops, dragging down the VanEck Semiconductor ETF. Other major tech-related companies like Tesla, Meta Platforms, and Netflix were also under pressure.
A key reason for this trend is that much of the recent market gains have been concentrated in the "AI trade," which includes these large technology and semiconductor companies. So this could also mean that some investors are locking in some gains ahead of more definitive feedback from the Fed.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.
Among others, the following stocks were impacted:
- Renewable Energy company Fluence Energy (NASDAQ: FLNC) fell 4%. Is now the time to buy Fluence Energy? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Renewable Energy company ChargePoint (NYSE: CHPT) fell 3.6%. Is now the time to buy ChargePoint? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Waste Management company Perma-Fix (NASDAQ: PESI) fell 3.4%. Is now the time to buy Perma-Fix? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Construction and Maintenance Services company Tutor Perini (NYSE: TPC) fell 3.2%. Is now the time to buy Tutor Perini? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Electronic Components company Bel Fuse (NASDAQ: BELFA) fell 3.6%. Is now the time to buy Bel Fuse? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
Zooming In On Fluence Energy (FLNC)
Fluence Energy’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 68 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 5 days ago when the stock dropped 4.2% on the news that an unexpectedly sharp rise in wholesale inflation fueled concerns about rising costs and their impact on corporate profits. The primary catalyst was the July 2025 Producer Price Index (PPI), a measure of inflation at the wholesale level, which jumped 0.9% against forecasts of a 0.2% rise. This represents the most significant monthly increase in over three years, pointing to mounting cost pressures for manufacturers, with tariffs cited as a key factor. This data complicates the Federal Reserve's upcoming interest rate decisions, as persistent inflation may prevent rate cuts, creating a headwind for cyclical sectors like Industrials.
Fluence Energy is down 53.8% since the beginning of the year, and at $7.82 per share, it is trading 66.7% below its 52-week high of $23.50 from November 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Fluence Energy’s shares at the IPO in October 2021 would now be looking at an investment worth $223.43.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, it should be obvious by now that generative AI is going to have a huge impact on how large corporations do business. While Nvidia and AMD are trading close to all-time highs, we prefer a lesser-known (but still profitable) semiconductor stock benefiting from the rise of AI. Click here to access our free report on our favorite semiconductor growth story.
