Shares of South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix, a leading supplier of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips used in AI applications, plunged more than 8%, while rival Samsung Electronics fell 7.9%. Both hit their lowest intraday levels since August.
In Japan, tech-focused investment giant SoftBank Group sank 8.03%, leading a broader retreat in semiconductor and electronics shares. Tokyo Electron dropped 6.6%, Advantest declined 5.38%, Renesas Electronics shed 5.89%, while Lasertec and Disco lost 4.76% and 4.83% respectively.
The regional declines followed a weak session on Wall Street, where the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.44% on Monday and US memory chipmaker Micron Technology slid 3.9% as investors assessed intensifying competition from CXMT. Over the weekend, the Chinese memory maker announced significant progress on a new chip architecture designed to increase memory density by packing more data into a smaller space. CXMT shares were down more than 2%.
"Investors are jittery and looking for excuses to take profit on AI-related stocks that have outperformed this year, especially memory stocks," said Vey-Sern Ling, senior equity advisor at UBP. He said that while Chinese memory makers could potentially become a threat to the global demand-supply balance over time, in the short run they continue to face technology hurdles, particularly in more advanced memory like HBM.
Phillip Wool, chief market strategist at Rayliant Global Advisors, said the CXMT breakthrough marked a significant milestone for Chinese chipmakers, demonstrating their ability to overcome technology restrictions and potentially challenge established players sooner than expected. He cautioned, however, that the market reaction appeared disproportionate.