Chip-stock bets lost $52 million in 10 minutes with Wall Street shut

What happened

18, 2026 US stock markets were closed. The biggest casualty was a product that already carries leverage before anyone adds more: the Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X Shares, better known as SOXL.

A 10-minute flush hit round-the-clock chip-stock contracts while U.S. markets were shut, leaving traders with no real share price to lean on.

Off-hours trading volatility highlights risks of leveraged positions, potentially deterring investors from perpetual (a derivative contract with no expiry date) contracts in semiconductor assets. Traders betting on chip stocks lost about $52 million anyway.

On October 18, 2026, perpetual futures tied to AI-themed semiconductor stocks and ETFs (a fund traded on a stock exchange like a share) dropped sharply. The slide triggered approximately $51.6 million in liquidations within 10 minutes, between 05:22 and 05:32 UTC, according to CoinGlass data compiled across multiple exchanges.

Ten minutes, five tickers, one bad morning Liquidations hit hardest on the bullish side of the trade. Long positions accounted for around $38.1 million, or 73.8% of the total.

SOXL led the pack with around $12.73 million in liquidations.