As U.S.-led semiconductor stocks plunged, Korea's stock market leaders Samsung Electronics and SK hynix fell sharply on the 28th, while chip stocks in major Asian markets such as Japan and Taiwan also tumbled across the board.
Japan's Nikkei 225 at one point fell more than 4% intraday from the previous session and dropped below 62,000 for the first time since late May. The broader Topix, Japan's composite stock index, was down around 3%. The Nikkei 225 had ended the previous day up 320 yen at 64,931 yen.
In particular, Japanese NAND flash maker Kioxia slumped 18.3% to as low as 44,550 yen, shrinking its market capitalization to 24.41 trillion yen (about 219 trillion won).
Semiconductor equipment stocks also plunged across the board, including Tokyo Electron (-11.2%), Renesas (-10.6%), Lasertec (-14.4%), and Advantest (-10.4%).
Taiwan's market also could not escape the selling. The Taiex fell more than 4% intraday, sliding to the 41,600 level. TSMC, which accounts for more than 40% of the Taiwan market's capitalization, deepened its losses to close down 2.8% at 2,285 New Taiwan dollars, and its market value decreased to 59.3 trillion New Taiwan dollars (about 2,672 trillion won).
A key reason cited for the across-the-board plunge in Asian chip stocks is growing doubt, stemming from the United States, about the sustainability of artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure investment. Concerns that soaring memory prices could instead lead to demand contraction or substitution also weighed on sentiment.
Some analysts said Korea's sharp market swings also affected other Asian markets. Japan's Nikkei newspaper ran a story titled "More than 2% moves in a day, Korea's market drives chip stocks," reporting that "with no time difference and the same trading hours, the market is being heavily influenced by Korea."