Samsung, SK Hynix sink 8.3% as Asian tech sell-off hits Kospi
Why it matters: The Kospi dropped 6.7% as investors rotated out of chip stocks despite Samsung’s profit surge.
Asian stocks fell Tuesday as a sharp retreat in semiconductor shares dragged regional benchmarks lower, with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix both dropping 8.3%. The slide helped push South Korea’s Kospi down 6.7%, even after Samsung posted a 19-fold jump in quarterly profit. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 1.2%, while Japan’s Topix slipped 0.2%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.4%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 0.4% and the Shanghai Composite lost 1%. Investors rotated away from high-valuation tech names and into other sectors, reassessing whether heavy AI-related spending and rising competition can keep supporting chip stocks. S&P 500 futures dipped 0.2% in Asian trading and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.8%.