SK Hynix Plunges Over 11% as U.S. Chip Sell-Off Spreads to Asia

SK Hynix shares plunged on Thursday, reversing the prior session's gains as a sharp sell-off in U.S. semiconductor stocks spread to Asian markets, intensifying concerns that the AI-driven tech rally has become overextended.

Tech Rout Hits Korean Markets

Shares of SK Hynix (KS:000660) fell 11.3% to ₩1,847,000, according to data from Investing.com. The decline in Seoul followed a sharp drop in the company's U.S.-listed American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) during the preceding overnight session.

The broader South Korean market faced intense selling pressure. The benchmark KOSPI index opened down approximately 4.5%, prompting the Korea Exchange to activate a "sell-side sidecar." This mechanism, which suspends program sell orders for five minutes to curb volatility, was reportedly triggered for the 19th time this year.

Sector-Wide Pressure

The downturn reflects mounting investor anxiety that the global semiconductor rally is overly crowded, with chip stocks now making up a historically large portion of major equity indices. The weakness was sector-wide, underscoring a broad shift in sentiment rather than a company-specific issue.

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Key technology peers in the region also experienced significant losses:

• Samsung Electronics (KS:005930) dropped more than 7%.
• Seoul Semiconductor (KS:046890) fell more than 5%.

Contributing Factors

For SK Hynix, volatility has been particularly high since its Nasdaq listing on July 10. According to the source report, newly launched leveraged single-stock ETFs have mechanically amplified the stock's daily price swings. Uncertainty ahead of the company's quarterly earnings report, due on July 22, is also prompting investor caution.

Broader market sentiment was further dampened by geopolitical risk, as reports of fresh U.S. military strikes on Iran revived concerns over potential energy supply disruptions from the Middle East.