Shares of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix dropped sharply at the start of trading Thursday, pushing South Korea’s Kospi index lower. The declines followed steep losses among major chip stocks in the U.S. overnight, sparking market concern among investors in Asian equities.
At the market open, Samsung Electronics saw its stock fall by more than 7%, while SK Hynix experienced an even steeper drop of over 9%. The sharp selloff erased billions in combined market capitalization from both firms, further weighing on the Kospi, South Korea’s main equity benchmark that fell 6%. These moves mirrored a broader rout in technology shares worldwide, spurred by overnight declines in the U.S. market.
Japan’s Nikkei fell 2.5%, while the Nikkei Semiconductor Stock Index plunged 7.44%. Tokyo Electron dropped 5.5% and Advantest Corp plunged 6.8%.
The Nasdaq Composite underwent a significant pullback as investors moved away from semiconductor names. In Wednesday’s Wall Street session, shares of Micron Technology fell more than 10%, reversing some of its substantial year-to-date gains. Sandisk shares also retreated by over 10%. Additional large-cap technology firms, including Nvidia and Broadcom, registered losses ranging from 1% to 2%, contributing to the widespread sector weakness. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.66% with the support from Google, Meta, Apple and Microsoft that offset the decline of chip stocks.
