Asian Chip Markets Split as Regulatory Anxiety Hits Tech Giants

The selloff rippled across major manufacturing hubs, tracking an overnight decline in U.S. semiconductor stocks. South Korean memory leaders Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix bore the brunt of the volatility, dropping 4.8% and 7.0% respectively. Japan’s sector saw similar erosion, with Tokyo Electron sliding 7.6% and SoftBank Group shedding 5.1%.

Market sentiment remains tethered to the political landscape in Texas, where potential regulatory hurdles for data centers have sparked fears of project delays. James Ooi, chief market strategist at Tiger Brokers, noted that investors are recalibrating their expectations for the sector's growth pipeline. However, not all analysts share the pessimism. Kiwoom Securities analyst Han Ji-young argued that the AI investment boom remains resilient, suggesting that construction timelines are unlikely to suffer disruptions significant enough to impact long-term supply contracts or corporate earnings.

Contrasting the regional slump, Chinese semiconductor firms saw a broad surge. Shanghai Biren Technology jumped 11%, Moore Threads added 5.65%, and SMIC climbed 3.3% in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. managed to defy the broader regional downturn, finishing the session with a modest 0.4% gain.