A sign at the SK Hynix Inc. office in Seongnam, South Korea, Tuesday, June 30, 2026.
Cho Sung Joon | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Asian semiconductor stocks fell on Thursday as the sell-off in US semiconductor makers spread to the region, with SK Hynix continuing to see significant volatility since its US listing last week.
SK Hynix stock closed 11.5% lower in the Seoul market, reversing the 8% rise in the previous session. Stocks suffered their biggest single-day decline on Monday as investors booked profits amid growing concerns over AI spending.
Domestic rival Samsung Electronics fell more than 8%. Seoul Semiconductor fell 5.13%, LG Innotek fell 2.91%, and Samsung SDI fell more than 4%.
Weakness spread throughout the region. In Japan, AI-related equipment maker Advantest fell 5.93%. Softbank Group down 6.27%, Tokyo Electron Although it decreased by more than 4%, Renesas Electronics It decreased by 7%.
The loss was due to an overnight drop in US semiconductor stocks. micron technology 8% down; intel Although it decreased by more than 4%, ram research and advanced micro device Each fell about 3%.
“Today’s decline is mainly a continuation of last night’s U.S. trading,” said Rolf Balck, head of semiconductor and infrastructure equities research at Futurum Group.
He pointed to a proposed moratorium on data center construction in New York and reported that CoreWeave is considering hedging against future memory price declines as a slightly negative signal.
New York Gov. Cathy Hochul on Tuesday ordered a moratorium on new large data center projects while the state develops stricter standards governing energy, water and environmental impacts.
Bulk told CNBC that the recent downturn reflects profit-taking following a rally rather than deteriorating industry fundamentals, adding that structural demand for AI infrastructure and memory chips remains.
As cloud providers race to build out AI infrastructure, demand for high-bandwidth memory chips continues to outstrip supply, allowing major memory manufacturers like SK Hynix and Micron to maintain strong pricing power.
Despite ASML’s strong performance, a drop in chips also occurred. The Dutch chip equipment maker raised its full-year sales outlook for the second time this year, forecasting revenue of between 43 billion euros and 45 billion euros, beating analysts’ expectations, and outlined plans to further expand production of extreme ultraviolet lithography equipment.
Louis Kondratev, a trader at XFUNDs, said the recent decline reflects how crowded semiconductor trading has become after a long AI-driven bull market.
“Semiconductors alone now account for about 20% of the S&P 500 index, and that’s incredibly difficult to maintain,” he said. He pointed out that during the dot-com bubble in 2000, semiconductors accounted for just over 8% of the index, compared to the historical average of between 2% and 5%.
He also cautioned that while earnings momentum remains strong, the pace of gains could be difficult to sustain as investors reassess high valuations.
“Earnings momentum is very strong, but much of it is concentrated in semiconductors, and that momentum could start to slow as valuations find their home,” he said.
