Asian Tech Stocks Rout Deepens: Chip Giants Slide as Global Sell-Off Intensifies

Asian technology stocks took another hit Wednesday, with semiconductor companies leading the downturn after a rough session on Wall Street. Japan's SoftBank Group dropped more than 7%, while South Korea's SK Hynix tumbled over 10% despite reporting record quarterly profits and revenue - missing analysts' expectations. Samsung Electronics lost 4%, LG Innotek fell 9%, and Seoul Semiconductor declined 6%. The sell-off reflects what Kieron Poon, investment director of Asian equities at Aberdeen Investments, calls "the ongoing deleveraging process in Korea and softer sentiment towards global technology stocks."

Japanese chipmakers fared no better. Memory manufacturer Kioxia plunged 10%, Tokyo Electron dropped 8.5%, and SoftBank - whose stake in Arm makes it a proxy for AI investment - shed 7%. In mainland China, the tech-heavy ChiNext 300 index lost 1.83%, and the Hang Seng China Semiconductor Chips Index fell more than 5%. Taiwan's TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, was down 1.32%. The losses mirrored another weak night for U.S. semiconductors: Nvidia closed flat after opening lower, Intel dropped nearly 6%, AMD lost 8%, and memory stocks Micron and Seagate each fell more than 8%. Western Digital sank nearly 7%, and Sandisk plunged 14%.

Despite the broad pullback, Aberdeen Investment's Poon sees opportunity, not a fundamental breakdown. "The recent market pullback has brought valuations to more attractive levels," he said, adding that the volatility "has not changed our long-term positive view." For investors watching the tech space, the message is clear: short-term pain, long-term potential - especially for quality names now trading at more reasonable prices.

Source: CNBC