Nvidia's half-a-trillion dollar wipeout leaves global chip stocks volatile

Global semiconductor stocks saw volatile trading Tuesday after a slump in shares of Nvidia during the previous session.

Shares of chip firms in Europe and Asia fell in early trade as investors reacted to Nvidia losing more than $500 billion in market capitalization over three trading days. Some of the stocks recouped losses, however, as shares in the U.S. chipmaking giant rose around 5.5% as of Tuesday 11:40 a.m. ET.

Switzerland-based semiconductor firm STMicroelectronics' shares ended the day down more than 1.4%.

In Europe, ASML, the Dutch chip equipment giant, reversed losses earlier in the day to close up 0.18% as Nvidia shares recovered. ASML is a key player in the global semiconductor market. The firm makes and sells extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) machines, which chipmakers use to manufacture integrated circuits.

Soitec, meanwhile, slipped 0.1%, while ASMI climbed 0.6% after falling earlier in the session. The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed around 0.3% lower.

Asian semiconductor shares also had a volatile day. Taiwanese chip firm MediaTek's shares fell 1.8%, while South Korean firm Samsung slipped 0.3%.

TSMC, the world's largest chipmaker, and SK Hynix managed to dodge the negative sentiment, rising 0.5% and 0.9%, respectively.

It comes after a sharp slide in shares of Nvidia over three consecutive sessions, falling 13% from Thursday's all-time highs.

On Monday, Nvidia closed down 6.7% — its second-steepest drop of the year — but the shares started to rebound in early trade Tuesday.

The company last week topped Apple and Microsoft as the most valuable U.S. company, reaching a market capitalization over $3.4 trillion. By the end of Monday, Nvidia had seen more than $540 billion erased from its market value after hitting