South Korea’s benchmark Kospi index suffered a sharp decline on Tuesday, dropping 7.4% to 5,914.35 – its weakest reading since late July. The slide was driven primarily by a sell‑off in semiconductor shares, a sector that had propelled the market to an all‑time high earlier this year as artificial intelligence (AI) spurred demand for faster, higher‑capacity memory chips.
Key chip makers feel the pressure
Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest memory‑chip producer, fell 7.7%, while fellow Korean memory specialist SK Hynix sank 8.8%. Both companies saw their stocks tumble after reports highlighted the rapid progress of China’s emerging memory chipmaker CXMT, which analysts say could increasingly challenge the dominance of Samsung, SK Hynix and U.S. rival Micron Technology.
Regional market reaction
The broader Asian equity landscape mirrored the Korean downturn. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 2.5% to 67,292.39, with chip‑equipment maker Tokyo Electron down 6.6% and SoftBank Group, an investor in OpenAI, losing 8%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1% to 24,033.51, while Shanghai’s Composite index dropped 1.1% to 3,754.82.
In Taiwan, the Taiex index declined 1.9%, led by a 1.6% fall in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the island’s premier chipmaker.
U.S. markets and commodities
Across the Pacific, U.S. markets posted mixed results. The S&P 500 edged down 0.1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.4%, and the technology‑heavy Nasdaq slipped 0.4%. Chip‑related shares also moved lower: Nvidia fell 1.3%, AMD dropped 2.3%, Micron lost 3.9%, and Broadcom slipped 1.9%.
Oil prices eased as geopolitical tension in the Middle East persisted. Brent crude fell 1.4% to $105.20 a barrel, still well above the roughly $72 level seen in late February before the Iran‑related conflict escalated. U.S. crude declined 1.5% to $92.34 a barrel.
Analyst perspective
ING commodities strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey noted that market sentiment remains more focused on Middle‑East developments, specifically Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and the associated risk to oil flows from the Persian Gulf.
The U.S. dollar slipped to 158.26 Japanese yen, while the euro rose modestly to $1.1175.
Looking ahead
Investors will watch this week’s earnings reports from major banks, including Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, for clues on broader financial‑sector health. Meanwhile, the semiconductor industry remains a focal point as AI applications continue to expand, prompting both optimism about growth and caution over intensifying competition from new entrants like CXMT.
Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.
