Semiconductor stocks came under widespread selling pressure on Monday after SK Hynix posted the largest single-day decline in its history, prompting investors to lock in gains following the company’s recent Nasdaq debut while renewed geopolitical tensions added to market caution.
The weakness spread from Asian markets into Europe and U.S. premarket trading, highlighting growing concerns over lofty valuations in AI-related technology shares despite continued strength in long-term demand.
SK Hynix Sparks Global Selloff
SK Hynix shares slumped more than 15% in South Korea, setting a new record for the company’s biggest daily decline.
The move followed a strong rally that saw the stock more than triple this year ahead of last week’s U.S. listing, encouraging investors to take profits.
Samsung Electronics (USOTC:SSNHZ) also traded lower, helping push the KOSPI index down 9% and triggering a temporary 20-minute trading halt.
European Semiconductor Sector Weakens
Selling pressure extended across European technology stocks shortly after markets opened.
ASMI (EU:ASM), ASML (EU:ASML) and Besi (EU:BESI) each fell between 1% and 2%, while STMicroelectronics (EU:STMPA) slipped around 1%.
Infineon (TG:IFX) was among Germany’s weakest performers, declining roughly 2%.
U.S. Chip Stocks Set for Lower Open
U.S. semiconductor names also pointed to a weaker start.
Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC), Micron (NASDAQ:MU), SanDisk (NASDAQ:SNDK), Seagate (NASDAQ:STX), AMD (NASDAQ:AMD) and Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) all traded sharply lower ahead of the opening bell.
Strong AI Outlook Meets Profit-Taking
SK Hynix raised more than $26 billion through its American Depositary Receipt offering last week, with the shares priced at $149 before opening at $170 and ending their first trading session up 12.8%.
“The current memory upcycle is tracking substantially stronger than expected, but our base case continues to assume normalisation in cycle dynamics, limiting upside at current levels,” said Lorraine Tan, a director at Morningstar.
Although demand for high-bandwidth memory chips used in AI data centres remains robust, Monday’s decline suggests investors are becoming increasingly cautious after the sector’s remarkable gains this year.
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