Asian semiconductor stocks, including Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, fell sharply Tuesday as skepticism grew over the sustainability of AI infrastructure investment.
Japan's Kioxia Holdings led the selloff, plunging more than 18% — a steeper decline than either Samsung Electronics or SK hynix.
Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped more than 4% as of 3:32 p.m. Korean Standard Time on Tuesday, falling below the 62,000 mark for the first time since late May.
Kioxia, Japan's leading NAND flash memory chip manufacturer, tumbled 18.3% to 44,550 yen ($272), shrinking its market cap to 24.41 trillion yen (about 219 trillion won).
Semiconductor equipment makers also fell in tandem — Tokyo Electron dropped 10.96%, Renesas slid 10.45%, and Advantest lost 10.11%.
Taiwan was swept up in the selling as well. The Taiwan Weighted Index plunged more than 4% during trading, falling as low as the 41,600 level.
TSMC, which accounts for more than 40% of Taiwan's total stock market capitalization, extended its losses to close down 2.98% at 2,280 New Taiwan dollars. Taiwanese chip designer MediaTek also finished the session down 9.92%.
South Korean markets were no exception. The Kospi plunged more than 10% on the day, triggering a circuit breaker, while the Kosdaq fell more than 8%, also halting trading temporarily.
Samsung Electronics closed down 13.39% at 220,000 won ($150), and SK hynix finished 14.65% lower at 1.55 million won. Samsung's close at the 220,000-won level was its first since April 30, roughly three months ago, while SK hynix retreated to levels last seen in early May.
The broad selloff in Asian chip stocks reflects mounting doubts about the staying power of AI infrastructure investment originating in the United States.
Alphabet, Google's parent company, disclosed a free cash flow deficit for the second quarter, and Nvidia's share price has fallen sharply in recent sessions, ceding its position as the world's most valuable company by market cap to Apple.
Concerns that surging memory chip prices could dampen demand or push customers toward alternatives are also weighing on investor sentiment.
Adding to the pressure, the strong market debut of Chinese memory chipmaker CXMT dampened appetite for other Asian semiconductor stocks.
Lee Gyeong-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities, said the core driver of the selloff was a shock originating from China. "CXMT's listing has reignited fears about the expansion of China's memory chip production capacity and intensifying competition over the medium to long term," he said. "There is a growing perception that capital is rotating into Chinese semiconductors, weakening the relative supply-demand dynamics for Samsung Electronics and SK hynix."
He added that China's domestic development of DUV equipment and controversy over Nvidia's circular deal arrangements had compounded profit-taking pressure across the entire AI value chain. "Foreign selling amplified the index decline at a time when trading volume was already shrinking, as investors sat on the sidelines ahead of the unwinding of leveraged products and the implementation of deposit regulations," he said.
jiyun@heraldcorp.com
