Micron leads the big tech sell-off. What the charts show about the next big catalyst

To start this week's column, I clicked over to see this headline on CNBC's homepage: "Stocks fall on global chip rout with Nasdaq off more than 1%, led by Micron." It was about what I expected and a fair headline. Looking at Tuesday's price action, it seems like the market's leading names and industries are, in fact, getting creamed. However, in the markets, context matters — especially in periods of spiking volatility. To gain perspective on what's happening, why it may be happening, and how to proceed amidst the volatility, I like to step back, take a deep breath, and assess the long-term charts of the markets involved. As visual investors, we can gain valuable insight when we look at longer-term trends that help us rise above the inevitable near-term noise in this secular AI-driven bull market and stay focused on our longer-term goals. Let's get into it. This is going to be a chart-heavy column, so I'll do my best with limited writing skills to clearly convey my points. First, year to date, the S & P 500 is up almost 8% and the Invesco QQQ ETF is up 16% — and then things get really interesting. Taiwan is up 66% in 2026, semiconductors are up 72%, and the iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (EWY) is up about 100%—including Tuesday's sell-off. Amazing. Asian equities have been on a tear lately, which is driving the Asian-heavy iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM) to a two-decade breakout. …