Global AI chip sentiment is undergoing a sharp correction in expectations.
As worries rapidly intensify over overheated investment in AI infrastructure and peaking demand for computing power, global chip stocks have collectively faced significant selling pressure recently. In Asian markets, leading companies like Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (SSNLF), SK Hynix, and Kioxia have fallen between 21% and 30% from their June highs, putting the valuation expansion previously driven by the AI boom to a comprehensive test.
Market Sentiment Shift Trigger
The catalyst for the shift in market sentiment was the reported plan by Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) to sell some of its AI computing resources. Although the news is still subject to different interpretations, investors are beginning to re-examine the logic behind the continuous increase in AI capital expenditure by tech giants over the past two years: if computing power supply begins to outstrip demand, the core narrative supporting the sustained rise of global chip stocks may start to crack.
Impact on South Korea
Compared to the US market, the impact of this adjustment is particularly sensitive for South Korea. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are not only the largest weighted stocks in the South Korean market but also crucial pillars for the country's exports and corporate profits. Should the AI investment cycle cool, South Korea's capital markets and even its macroeconomy could be among the first to feel the pressure.
AI Trade Cools, Chip Stocks Face Profit-Taking
Following a sustained surge in the first half of the year, the chip sector is experiencing large-scale profit-taking.
Data shows that Samsung Electronics has fallen approximately 21% from its June high, bringing its share price back to levels seen at the end of May. SK Hynix has seen a cumulative decline of 25%, while the Japanese memory chip maker Kioxia has retreated about 30% from its peak.
The US market has not been spared either. Micron Technology (MU) and SanDisk both plunged over 10% overnight, with core AI industry chain targets generally seeing capital outflows.
Previously, global capital flowed almost continuously into the AI industry chain, making concepts like memory chips, HBM, and high-performance computing among the most crowded trades. As share prices rose rapidly, valuations also climbed. The market is now beginning to reassess whether this round of AI investment has prematurely priced in future growth.
Meta News Prompts Market to Re-evaluate AI Capex
What truly altered market risk appetite was concern over AI computing power demand.
Recently, news that Meta plans to sell some AI computing resources drew significant market attention. While this move does not necessarily signal a broad slowdown in AI investment, for the chip sector, which is built on expectations of continuous capacity expansion and procurement, any signal of marginally weakening demand is quickly amplified by the market.
Investors are beginning to worry whether the pace at which global tech giants have been building AI data centers and purchasing GPUs and HBM memory over the past two years has outstripped actual commercial demand.
A senior equities manager noted that AI-related stocks had accumulated significant gains and market expectations were very high, making cyclical profit-taking almost inevitable. Any negative news could act as a catalyst for capital withdrawal.
The market's real concern is not a single event, but whether the AI capital expenditure cycle is entering a phase of marginal slowdown. Once the market begins to believe that computing power supply growth is outpacing demand growth, the logic that has supported the high valuations of the chip sector will also be challenged.
South Korea's High Exposure in Global AI Adjustment
Compared to other markets, South Korea is facing greater ripple effects.
Over the past six months, the South Korean stock market has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the global AI rally. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix drove the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) higher, and the chip industry became a core asset supporting household wealth and capital market performance in South Korea.
Now, with both leading companies simultaneously entering a correction, the South Korean market's high dependence on the AI trade is being fully exposed.
Of even greater concern is the impact on the real economy.
South Korea is one of the world's largest exporters of memory chips. Semiconductors have long accounted for a significant portion of South Korea's total exports and are a vital source of corporate profits, fiscal revenue, and economic growth. If global AI infrastructure investment cools and this further transmits to memory chip demand and prices, South Korea's exports, corporate profits, and even economic growth could face a chain reaction.
In other words, this is not just a tech stock correction; it signifies that South Korea's most important "national wealth"—the semiconductor industry—is undergoing a new round of valuation reassessment. Whether the AI investment logic can continue to support the global chip cycle will also become the most critical variable to watch in the global tech market in the coming months.
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