South Korean semiconductor shares tumbled on Tuesday, extending a rout in chipmakers after another weak session on Wall Street.
SK Hynix plunged more than 10%, while Samsung Electronics fell over 8%. Other AI-linked names also came under heavy selling, with Samsung SDI dropping over 7%, LG Innotek sliding nearly 14%, Seoul Semiconductor falling about 6% and LG Chem losing more than 4%.
Japan's semiconductor sector also traded lower. Tokyo Electron dropped more than 9%, Advantest slid over 8%, while SoftBank Group, a major AI investment proxy through its stake in Arm, fell nearly 5%. Shares of Japan computer memory manufacturer Kioxia plunged more than 15%.
The selloff followed another weak session for U.S. semiconductor stocks on Monday. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) lost more than 2%, adding to its Friday losses. AMD and Teradyne dropped 5% and 4%, respectively, to lead the declines. Micron Technology shed about 2%.
The weakness underscores how closely Asian technology shares and the U.S. AI trade have become intertwined.
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are among the world's largest suppliers of high-bandwidth memory chips used in AI servers, making their shares particularly sensitive to shifts in expectations for spending by U.S. hyperscalers.