Asian technology shares tumbled on Thursday as a sharp downturn in Wall Street’s artificial intelligence names spilled into regional markets, with South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix at one point plunging as much as 30% in a brief premarket flash crash before recovering most of its losses.
SK Hynix, a key supplier of high-bandwidth memory chips used in AI systems, ended the session down roughly 10% after the early dislocation, underscoring the fragility of investor sentiment toward heavily traded semiconductor stocks.
The retreat followed heavy losses among major U.S. AI-linked equities in the prior session, which reverberated across Asian trading floors and dragged down peers including Samsung Electronics and Taiwanese chip suppliers.
Despite the heightened volatility, several analysts maintained an upbeat view on the broader technology outlook. J.P. Morgan stated that the recent tech sell-off had not derailed the underlying AI investment cycle, pointing to continued demand for memory and computing hardware.
The turbulence extends a stretch of choppy trading for chip stocks, which have faced repeated pressure over AI financing doubts and competition concerns in recent months.
A Societe Generale strategist suggested the pullback in Korean equities may be nearing its end, describing the recent shakeout as largely complete and signalling that a period of stabilisation could follow.
SK Hynix has been among the strongest performers in the global chip sector this year, buoyed by surging orders for memory components essential to training and running large AI models. That rapid run-up has also left the stock exposed to sudden swings when broader sentiment shifts.
Flash crashes—rapid, short-lived price collapses often linked to automated trading and thin liquidity—have periodically hit individual stocks, with prices frequently rebounding within minutes as buyers step in.
The latest bout of volatility highlights how closely Asian chipmakers now track the fortunes of U.S. AI leaders, whose capital spending plans drive much of the demand for advanced semiconductors.
Investors will be watching upcoming earnings and guidance from major technology firms for signs of whether spending on AI infrastructure remains robust, a key factor in determining the direction of chip shares in the weeks ahead.