Direxion Daily Semiconductors Bear 3x Shares (SOXS) surged 5.00% during intraday trading on Friday. The leveraged inverse ETF, which seeks to deliver three times the inverse of the daily performance of U.S. semiconductor stocks, gained as the underlying semiconductor sector faced selling pressure.

The move follows broad weakness across chipmakers, with memory chip stocks extending their losses after Alphabet's Google publicized research on a new algorithm that could allow more efficient use of the storage needed for artificial intelligence development. This development raised concerns about demand for certain types of semiconductor memory, contributing to the sector's decline.

The session reflected a risk-off environment where inverse and defensive ETFs led gains while long positions lagged. The weakness in semiconductor stocks amplified the gains for the bearish leveraged vehicle SOXS, consistent with its investment objective of profiting from declines in the chip sector.