Kospi sinks 10.8% as AI chip sell-off slams Samsung, SK Hynix
What's new: The rout spread across Asia after a report said a Chinese firm had begun mass-producing DUV lithography tools.
Asian stock markets fell sharply Tuesday as another semiconductor sell-off hit major tech names, with South Korea's Kospi dropping 10.8% and Japan's Nikkei 225 losing about 4%. Samsung Electronics fell more than 13% and SK Hynix slid 14.7% in Seoul, while Tokyo Electron, Advantest and Kioxia also posted steep losses. The retreat followed a Wall Street drop in chip shares and deepening investor doubts over whether huge artificial intelligence spending will deliver returns soon enough to justify valuations. Sentiment worsened after The Information reported that Shanghai Yuliangsheng had started mass production of deep ultraviolet lithography machines, a market long dominated by ASML. Singapore and Taiwan tech stocks also declined.