Chip Selloff Goes Global as SK Hynix Plunges 11 Percent

The semiconductor selloff went global overnight. Asian markets cratered on Thursday, Europe followed, and U.S. futures pointed to an eighth straight day of declines for chip stocks.

In South Korea, SK Hynix plunged more than 11 percent and Samsung Electronics shed 9.5 percent. The Kospi tumbled 7.7 percent, triggering a 20-minute trading halt as selling intensified, and now sits roughly 20 percent below its September peak — near bear-market territory.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 4.8 percent. SoftBank Group lost 9.4 percent, chip-equipment maker Tokyo Electron dropped more than 7 percent and memory maker Kioxia plunged over 11 percent.

The most telling moment came from Taiwan Semiconductor. TSMC reported better-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday and said AI demand remains “very strong” — yet its shares still fell 2 percent. Even good news could not stop the selling.

Europe offered no refuge. ASML, the continent’s most valuable company, fell more than 6 percent, while Germany’s Infineon cratered nearly 8 percent.

U.S. premarket trading pointed lower as well. Nasdaq futures slid 1.2 percent, with Nvidia down nearly 2 percent and Micron off 4.5 percent before the bell, putting the SOXX semiconductor ETF on track for an eighth consecutive losing session.

A fresh catalyst added to the gloom. Broadcom chief executive Hock Tan likened AI investments to “casino gambling,” questioning whether the massive spending on AI infrastructure will pay off.

The deeper fear, Yorkville Ives technology analysts wrote in a note, is that “the market is repricing anything that funds multi-year builds against revenue that arrives later.”

“The problem for heavily technology-weighted markets such as Korea and Taiwan is that any risk to perceived AI spending growth may lead to slower demand growth for chips and equipment,” said Lorraine Tan, Morningstar’s director of equity research for Asia.

What to watch now is whether the U.S. open extends the rout — and when TSMC’s message that demand is strong starts to matter again.