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* Futures down: Dow 0.7%, S&P 500 1%, Nasdaq 2%

July 17 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures slid on Friday

as a selloff in chip stocks deepened, forcing investors to

reassess the staying power of this year's AI-fueled rally, while

a weak forecast from Netflix ( NFLX ) added to the pressure.

After a blistering run that lifted Wall Street's main

indexes to record highs, investors have started to retreat from

crowded semiconductor trades as worries over the scale of

AI-related spending resurfaced.

Chip stocks were broadly lower, extending the previous

session's losses. Memory-chip makers, among the year's biggest

winners, fell sharply for a second straight day in premarket

trading, with SanDisk ( SNDK ), Western Digital ( WDC ), Seagate

Technology ( STX ) and Micron Technology ( MU ) down between

4.6% and 6.5%.

The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index hit a nearly

two-month-low on Thursday and was set for its worst week since

March 2025.

Netflix ( NFLX ) also weighed on sentiment after the

streaming giant forecast third-quarter revenue and earnings

below Wall Street expectations. Its shares fell 9.4%.

The renewed bout of volatility drove the CBOE Volatility

Index, Wall Street's fear gauge, to a more-than-one-week

high, rising 1.8 points to 18.53.

At 4:55 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 352 points,

or 0.67%, and S&P 500 E-minis were down 78.25 points, or

1.03%. Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 598.25 points, or

2.05%.

Thursday's session had already set a weaker tone, with

losses in chipmakers dragging the broader market lower. The main

indexes were also on track for weekly declines, despite an

initially upbeat start to the second-quarter earnings season

from major banks and benign inflation data earlier in the week.

Geopolitical risks also loomed large. Iran said on Friday it

had launched fresh attacks on U.S. facilities in the Gulf after

a sixth straight night of U.S. strikes on Iranian military

targets.

The escalation followed the breakdown of a brittle ceasefire

reached last month and renewed concerns over energy flows

through the Strait of Hormuz.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump's fresh accusations

that China meddled in U.S. elections risked complicating a

fragile truce with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, just two months

before a planned summit in Washington.

Among other premarket movers, Intuitive Surgical ( ISRG )

fell 10.8%, even after the medical device maker topped Wall

Street estimates for second-quarter profit and revenue on strong

demand for its surgical systems.

(Reporting by Ragini Mathur in Bengaluru; Editing by Joyjeet

Das)