All articles tagged with #asia pacific equities
Asian markets slide as an AI-driven sell-off deepens, led by SK Hynix and Samsung with Kospi halting after steep declines; investors worry memory-price cycles and looming oversupply could damp AI demand, though analysts see potential near-term gains as deleveraging progresses and earnings outlook improves.
Investors are trimming bets on Asia’s chipmakers—TSMC, SK Hynix and Samsung—after a rally that left them nearly 29% of the MSCI Emerging Markets index, raising concentration concerns as the EM rally cools. Fidelity and BlackRock have reduced exposure amid volatility, with Korea’s market down more than 20% from its June high as foreigners sell about $100bn this year. Analysts warn the dominance of a few chip names could backfire if AI demand slows, competition rises, or new Chinese memory IPOs (CXMT and YMTC) expand supply.
Tech shares declined on Monday as Asian memory-chipmakers tumbled amid renewed US-Iran hostilities and a jump in oil prices, knocking the Nasdaq 100 about 1.2% lower and the S&P 500 around 0.3%. Memory names such as Sandisk, Western Digital and Micron fell sharply, with SK Hynix posting a record one-day drop in Seoul, while Taiwan Semiconductor reported robust first-half revenue, underscoring mixed signals in the chip sector as investors shifted to risk-off mode and global markets wobbled on Hormuz-related tensions.
Tech stocks in Asia fell sharply after Nasdaq's Friday drop, with South Korea's Kospi sliding as much as 8.8% and Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix down over 10%, triggering a 20-minute trading halt. The weakness spread to Japan and Taiwan as investors weighed AI-driven hype against memory-chip supply concerns, while Seoul discussed market-stability measures and foreign selling pressured the won.
AI-driven demand propelled SoftBank past Toyota to become Japan’s largest company by market value, with SoftBank’s market cap above ¥46 trillion as Toyota slipped below that level after a Monday drop; the move came as the Nikkei 225 rose on AI/semiconductor optimism and foreign buying boosted Japan’s tech stocks.