Asian tech stocks fell sharply, with SK Hynix and SoftBank among the biggest decliners, following a Wall Street chip sell-off. The trigger was a reported breakthrough by China's CXMT in memory chips, which raised concerns about future competition for established players.
Phillip Wool of Rayliant Global Advisors called the breakthrough a significant milestone, showing Chinese chipmakers can overcome restrictions. But he argued the market reaction was disproportionate: CXMT has not demonstrated large-scale production, lags in market share, and is not competing in HBM, where SK Hynix and Samsung remain dominant.
Wool read the sell-off as evidence of how vulnerable AI sentiment is, rather than a fundamental shift. Meanwhile, Intel and Broadcom CEOs have warned that access to capital could become a major headwind to the AI boom. Investors are also watching corporate earnings and U.S. inflation data for clues on interest rates, which often move inversely with growth stocks.