Asian chip stocks tumbled sharply on August 6, with SK Hynix falling 9.71% and Samsung Electronics declining 6.13% amid a global tech selloff tracking U.S. overnight weakness. In Japan, SoftBank dropped 4.36%, Tokyo Electron fell over 5%, and Kioxia sank 8.84%; Taiwan's TSMC was 1.46% lower. The KOSPI index has been whipsawing between steep losses and record gains, with South Korea's semiconductor-heavy market bearing the brunt of volatile flows driven by leveraged chip bets.
Despite the selloff, analysts remain bullish on long-term demand. JPMorgan stated in a Wednesday note that the Asia tech sell-off had not derailed the AI investment cycle and does not expect hyperscalers to cut back on capex. JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs both maintain buy ratings on SK Hynix and Samsung, viewing valuations after the month-long decline (SK Hynix down ~35%, Samsung ~23%) as pricing in extreme pessimism that fundamentals do not support. S&P Global noted that AI and defense spending are driving global growth, with the tech equipment PMI hitting its fastest output growth since May 2021.
For practitioners, memory chip stocks remain critical AI bellwethers. Sharp swings reflect investor uncertainty about near-term revenue justification for record capex, but analyst consensus suggests any pullback is a repricing of expectations after the exceptional rally, not a demand signal shift. Hyperscaler deployment timelines and HBM supply constraints remain the key metrics to watch as architects plan capex for next-gen infrastructure.