SMH is trading at $553.33, down 2.02% in pre-market as hotter-than-expected September CPI, at 3.7% year over year, revived rate-hike concerns and pressured growth stocks. - Global chip weakness deepened: South Korea’s KOSPI plunged, with Samsung and SK Hynix among the hardest hit. - Investors weighed Chinese rival CXMT’s denser DRAM design and potential future memory-price pressure. - Nasdaq futures were down 1.11%; U.S. PPI and retail-sales releases were ahead.