Wednesday's trading marked the end of the recent record-breaking slump on the New York Stock Exchange. Concerns about possible disruptions in trade with China hit chip companies and indexes fell to their worst levels in several months.
The broad S&P 500 index fell 1.4 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index plummeted 2.8 percent, while the Dow Jones industrial index closed up 0.6 percent.
The chip companies' blow came after Bloomberg reported that US President Joe Biden is considering introducing the toughest possible trade barriers if companies such as Dutch ASML and Japanese Tokyo Electron continue to deliver advanced semiconductor technology to China.
Even semiconductor giant Nvidia, whose stock has risen 155.2 percent this year, was hit by chip anxiety and fell 6.6 percent on Wednesday.
Corrected: An earlier version of the text incorrectly stated the closing price for Nvidia.
