Shares of South Korea’s leading memory chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix fell sharply in early morning trade on Wednesday, tracking a broad selloff in US technology shares.
Samsung stock dropped as much as 4.4%, while SK Hynix slid 5%, extending losses that have weighed on the Kospi index in recent sessions.
The decline in Seoul mirrors a wider retreat in global semiconductor equities, driven by growing investor skepticism regarding the durability of artificial intelligence spending.
The sell-off follows a period of volatility where the Kospi index previously plunged below the 8,000 level, pressured by a broad-based exit from semiconductor positions.
Market participants are increasingly scrutinizing the valuation multiples of AI-related hardware suppliers, with concerns that the initial capital expenditure boom may be moderating.
This sentiment has spilled over from US markets, where tech giants faced selling pressure, to Asian counterparts that are heavily exposed to the same supply chain dynamics.