Samsung, SK Hynix Plunge Up to 11% as AI Financing Fears and China Rivalry Rattle Sector
NVDA sits 20% above its 52-week low of $164.07.
Summary
South Korean chip stocks Samsung and SK Hynix tumbled as much as 9.5% and 10.9% on Tuesday, dragging the KOSPI down 7.3%, as investors fled AI-related bets. The sell-off was triggered by a Wall Street Journal report that Nvidia may provide a $250 billion financial backstop for an OpenAI data-center project, raising fears that the AI chip leader is financing its own customers. Nvidia shares fell nearly 5% overnight. Compounding the rout, China's progress in homegrown DUV lithography tools and the popularity of low-cost Chinese AI models like Kimi K3 stoked concerns about future demand for advanced chips and HBM. SK Hynix, a key HBM supplier to Nvidia, saw its U.S.-listed shares close below their IPO price. The move reflects a sharp shift in sentiment toward AI infrastructure spending, with direct implications for Nvidia's supply chain and growth narrative.
At the time of this announcement, NVDA was trading at $196.13 on NASDAQ in the Technology sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $4.8T. The 52-week trading range was $164.07 to $236.54. This news item was assessed with negative market sentiment and an importance score of 8 out of 10. Source: Reuters.