Samsung and SK Hynix Fall More Than 10% in Korean Trading

Samsung and SK Hynix shares fell more than 10% in early Friday trading in South Korea, as growing AI concerns accompanied a steep selloff in U.S. technology stocks.

The selling reached beyond the two chipmakers. KOSPI 200 futures fell 7.9%, and an exchange-traded fund tracking Korean shares lost 13% overnight. The declines affected individual shares as well as futures and a fund tied to the Korean market.

The moves followed losses in U.S. technology benchmarks. The Nasdaq-100 fell 6.4%, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropped more than 12%, its largest one-day decline since March 2020.

Japan’s futures market also showed a sharp gap from the prior close. At 6:02 p.m. ET Thursday (8:02 a.m. Friday in Tokyo), the Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s December Nikkei 225 futures contract stood at 57,255, 6.26% below the index’s Thursday close of 61,077.90.

The declines came as AI concerns deepened after the U.S. midterm elections.