Tom Lee: Semiconductor Stock Sell-Off Mainly Due to SpaceX IPO Pre-Market Reallocation, Current Pullback to Receive Buying Support

June 10 — Tom Lee, chairman of BitMine, the largest Ethereum treasury, told CNBC in an interview that current market anxiety is primarily driven by two key factors: pre-SpaceX IPO fund reallocations and the market processing recent gains. The SpaceX IPO is on track to raise $750 billion and will be added to the Nasdaq 100 Index. As a result, many institutional investors are raising capital early not just to participate in the IPO, but also to hold cash to build sizable weighted positions in SpaceX’s secondary market shares post-listing. Lee argues this means institutions could offload some recently surging stocks, weighing on chip stocks. Lee notes that storage chip stocks and the broader semiconductor sector have held above last Friday’s lows, meaning their charts haven’t fully broken down. He calls the current pullback healthy and doesn’t see it derailing tech stocks’ broader upward trajectory. SpaceX’s first trading day will be a critical test: a weak debut would fuel claims the market has hit a peak. But since many investors already tie the IPO to a market top, Lee says a contrarian perspective suggests this might not actually be the case. Lee remains confident tech stocks will keep leading the market’s rally, and expects investors to buy into the current dip. He forecasts the market will follow a “three-phase” pattern this year, with a strong upward trend likely to persist in the near term. Still, a pullback could hit later this year, possibly around the expiration of SpaceX’s IPO lock-up period (which would add supply pressure to the market). He points to three potential catalysts for a second-stage market retreat: uncertainty around new Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s policy path, stock supply from expiring large IPO lock-ups, and looming energy shortage pressure in the second half of the year.