Barclays Urges S&P 500 Puts as Broadcom’s 15% Drop Threatens 7,600 Rally
Updated
Updated · CNBC · Jun 4
Barclays Urges S&P 500 Puts as Broadcom’s 15% Drop Threatens 7,600 Rally
2 articles · Updated · CNBC · Jun 4
Summary
Barclays traders told investors to buy S&P 500 index puts, arguing protection is unusually cheap even after the benchmark briefly topped 7,600 this week.
Broadcom’s more than 15% premarket slide on weak quarterly figures and guidance hit semiconductors, helping push the S&P 500 down 0.4% for the week and toward further losses Thursday.
Semiconductors now make up 19% of the S&P 500, and with tech hardware exceed 30%, Barclays said, leaving a selloff in that group capable of lifting index-wide correlation and volatility.
The desk said its equities timing indicator remains deep in sell-signal territory and points to unfavorable S&P 500 risk-reward over the next two months, while stressing the warning is technical rather than a call on earnings fundamentals.
That caution lands after a huge run-up in chip stocks—the VanEck Semiconductor ETF is still up 77% in 2026—underscoring how a tech-led reversal could test the broader market rally.