Korean chip stocks tumble with SK Hynix below US listing price amid China competition fears
SOXX•South Korean chip stocks slump
SEOUL, July 28 (Reuters) - South Korean chip stocks slumped on Tuesday, with Samsung Electronics 005930.KS and SK Hynix 000660.KS falling as much as 9.5% and 11.1%, respectively, as investors retreated from AI-related stocks amid mounting concerns over financing risks tied to AI infrastructure spending and intensifying competition from China.
SK Hynix's U.S.-listed shares had already slumped overnight, closing at $143.02, below their $149 initial public offering price.
The benchmark KOSPI .KS11 was trading down around 8% as of 0120 GMT.
The sector-wide selloff followed a series of developments that renewed doubts about the sustainability of the AI-driven semiconductor rally.
SK Hynix, a key supplier of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips to Nvidia NVDA.O, has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the AI spending boom, making its shares particularly sensitive to shifts in investor sentiment toward the sector.
