The Direxion Daily Semiconductors Bear 3x Shares (SOXS) ETF surged 12.17% over a 24-hour period, as the leveraged inverse fund capitalized on a significant downturn in the semiconductor sector.

The move reflects intense selling pressure across global chip stocks, driven by profit-taking after a prolonged rally and deepening market concerns over the sustainability of artificial intelligence (AI)-driven capital expenditure growth. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, which the fund inversely tracks, fell sharply intraday and has declined more than 22% from its mid-June high, officially entering a technical bear market.

As a fund designed to deliver three times the inverse of the daily performance of U.S. semiconductor equities, SOXS's gains were amplified by the broad-based retreat in the underlying sector. The selloff was compounded by weakness in Asian semiconductor markets, where names like SK Hynix saw steep declines, contributing to the sector-wide pressure that propelled the inverse ETF higher.