SK Hynix shares plunge as Asian chip selloff spreads

The SK Hynix shares plunge in Seoul reached more than 10% on Tuesday, according to CNBC, as pressure on semiconductor stocks extended from Wall Street into Asia. Samsung Electronics dropped more than 8%, putting two of South Korea’s most important chipmakers at the centre of a broader retreat in AI-linked equities.

The declines showed how quickly moves in U.S. technology shares can feed into Asian suppliers tied to artificial intelligence infrastructure. CNBC reported that the selling followed another weak U.S. session for semiconductor names on Monday, when the VanEck Semiconductor ETF lost more than 2% after also falling on Friday.

Why did SK Hynix shares plunge?

CNBC linked the move to a wider selloff in chipmakers after weakness in U.S. semiconductor stocks. The report also noted that SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics are major suppliers of high-bandwidth memory chips used in AI servers, which makes their shares sensitive to changes in expectations for spending by U.S. hyperscalers.

High-bandwidth memory is a type of advanced chip designed to move large volumes of data quickly, a key requirement for AI servers. If investors reassess how much large U.S. technology customers may spend on AI data-centre capacity, that can affect expectations for suppliers of memory, components and equipment across Asia.

Other South Korean technology and battery-related shares also fell. CNBC reported that Samsung SDI declined more than 7%, LG Innotek slid nearly 14%, Seoul Semiconductor lost about 6% and LG Chem fell more than 4%.

Japanese chip stocks also fell

The selloff was not confined to Seoul. In Japan, CNBC reported that Tokyo Electron dropped more than 9% and Advantest fell over 8%, extending pressure across semiconductor equipment stocks.

SoftBank Group, which CNBC described as a major AI investment proxy through its stake in Arm, fell nearly 5%. Kioxia, the Japanese computer memory maker, declined more than 15%.

The pressure in Asia followed U.S. declines led by several semiconductor names. CNBC reported that AMD dropped 5% on Monday, Teradyne fell 4% and Micron Technology shed about 2%.

The sequence points to a tightly connected global chip trade, in which U.S.-listed designers, Asian memory suppliers, equipment makers and AI investment vehicles often move together when investors shift views on artificial intelligence demand. CNBC said the weakness highlights the increasingly close link between Asian technology shares and the U.S. AI trade.

For investors and policymakers, the move puts renewed attention on the concentration of AI supply chains in a small group of companies and markets. South Korea’s Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix sit near the front of that chain because of their role in high-bandwidth memory, while Japanese firms such as Tokyo Electron and Advantest are tied to the tools and testing equipment used in semiconductor production.

This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.