Chip Stocks Deepen Losses as Concerns Mount Over Rates, AI Debt

(Bloomberg) -- A rout in global technology hardware stocks extended Thursday, as Asian chipmakers followed US peers lower on worries over Federal Reserve interest rate hikes and AI funding difficulties.

Top memory makers Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc. slid more than 5% each, sending the South Korean benchmark Kospi down as much as 5.7%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped more than 2%, with chip-equipment makers Tokyo Electron Ltd. and Screen Holdings Co. down at least 3% each.

A closely watched US gauge of semiconductor stocks has erased $1.6 trillion in market value in a six-day losing streak, as concerns mount over higher interest rates, stretched valuations and the huge costs of building AI infrastructure. Strong earnings reports from Samsung and ASML Holding NV have failed to calm investors.

Worries heightened after data Wednesday showed US consumer prices advanced in September at the fastest clip in five months, spurring bets on more aggressive Fed tightening. Adding to jitters over the AI trade, CoreWeave Inc. shares plunged as its bonds fell to levels that typically indicate distress, leading investors to again question the sustainability of large spending on AI infrastructure.

The Kospi is poised for its seventh-straight day of declines, its longest losing streak since September 2024. It’s now trading at its lowest level since the end of July.

“The South Korean stock market’s valuation has dropped to an extreme level now,” said Kang DaeKwun, chief executive officer at Life Asset Management. While any pullback from the current level can be considered as an entry point, investors must make sure that problems over tech funding are resolved, he added.

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