LONDON, June 23, 2026, 12:17 BST
Semiconductor stocks around the world fell sharply Tuesday, with South Korea’s KOSPI down 9.99%. Chipmakers in Europe dropped too, and Nasdaq 100 futures shed 2.7% ahead of the Wall Street open. “Former generals … appear to have lost momentum,” said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone. Reuters
Philadelphia Semiconductor Index had hit an all-time high on Monday, making the latest dip stand out. Nvidia is down nearly 3% in premarket, while Intel, Marvell Technology and Advanced Micro Devices are lower by between 5.5% and 7.5%. Micron Technology dropped 8.6%. “Concern is returning that large technology firms are spending too much on AI infrastructure,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank. Reuters
Big investors are pushing hyperscalers to prove AI can pay for huge infrastructure bills. The Nasdaq 100 looked set to drop over $1 trillion in value if premarket moves stuck. Traders were pricing in 50 basis points of Fed hikes by December.
KOSPI tumbled to 8,203.84 in Seoul and triggered a 20-minute halt. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix both dropped over 12%. “Volatility has blown out,” CLSA chief equity strategist Alexander Redman said. He cited lots of retail margin positions and leveraged funds chasing bigger daily swings. Reuters
STOXX 600 technology lost 3.4% in Europe, set for its worst day since February. ASML, Aixtron dropped more than 5%. STMicroelectronics gave up 7.5%, Infineon slid 5.7%. Kiran Ganesh at UBS said investors may question “earnings sustainability” as firms keep borrowing before AI bets pay off. Reuters
SK Hynix’s surge didn’t last. On Monday, it passed Samsung to become the country’s top listed company after its stock soared more than 340% this year. Its advantage in high-bandwidth memory for AI chips had made it a key trade on data-center expansion. “Customised AI memory had changed the industry’s economics,” analyst Kim Sunwoo at Meritz Securities said. Reuters
Selling on Tuesday brought back memories of June 5, when the Philadelphia chip index dropped 10.3%, the worst one-day slide since March 2020. That fall followed Broadcom’s custom AI-chip outlook missing high hopes. Wells Fargo’s Ohsung Kwon said the sector is “way overbought,” but said the drop isn’t the end for the semiconductor bull market. Reuters
The drop might not be steady from here. Micron is set to announce fiscal Q3 results on June 24. A decent forecast could support memory stocks, but a shortfall or fresh bond yield jump could push the pullback further. Thomas Mathews, who runs Asia-Pacific markets at Capital Economics, said profitable chipmakers and a solid economy are “not typically a backdrop for a sustained drawdown.” But he pointed to concentrated bets in the sector as a risk for another sharp drop. investors.micron.com
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