Asian Chip Stocks React to US Selloff Amid AI Boom Concerns

South Korean semiconductor stocks slid after a broad overnight selloff in US chip shares tied to fading conviction in the sustainability of the AI-driven chip boom. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix each fell sharply as the rout spread from Wall Street to Seoul, even as underlying chip supply remained tight.

The US leg of the selloff hit hardest among AI-adjacent chipmakers rather than the broader market: the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropped roughly 4.65% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.16%, with Intel down 9.66%, AMD down 6.51%, and Micron down 4.7%. Notably, NVDA bucked the broader decline, edging up roughly 0.7% after the company pushed back on reports of delays to its next-generation chip products, underscoring that the selloff was concentrated in specific names rather than a uniform repricing of the AI sector.

A rotation out of AI-exposed technology names and into sectors such as healthcare and financials accompanied the move, while a spike in oil prices tied to ongoing Middle East tensions added to inflation concerns weighing on risk appetite more broadly.

The pattern points to investors reassessing near-term AI capital-spending assumptions and valuations rather than questioning underlying chip demand, since supply for AI-related components remains constrained. Whether the selloff proves a temporary repricing or the start of a deeper AI-valuation correction will likely depend on upcoming earnings from major chipmakers and continued clarity on hyperscaler capex plans.

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