Shares of Advanced Micro Devices Inc. sank 5.2% in active trade Friday, enough to pace the S&P 500 decliners, as they were pulled down by the chip maker’s connection to cryptocurrencies, which were plunging in morning trade. Volume topped 21.5 million shares, making the stock the most actively traded on major U.S. exchanges. Also linked to cryptocurrencies, shares of fellow graphics chip maker Nvidia Corp. slid 1.7%. The companies’ graphics processing units are used for mining digital currencies. But on Friday, bitcoin futures plummeted over 20% to $12,213. Separately, shares of Square Inc. slumped 3.1%. The company said last month that it was allowing a “small number” of users of its mobile money-transfer service, Square Cash, to buy bitcoin from its app. AMD’s stock has lost 9% year to date, Nvidia shares have rallied 80% and Square’s stock has soared 155%. In comparison, the PHLX Semiconductor Index has climbed 40% and the S&P 500 has gained 20%.
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