Chip rout spreads globally on CXMT memory breakthrough — SkimNews
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- CXMT announced progress on a new chip architecture that packs more data into a smaller space, with Rayliant's Phillip Wool calling it a "significant milestone" for Chinese chipmakers — though he noted CXMT hasn't reached large-scale production and still trails in advanced memory like HBM.
- SK Hynix plunged more than 10% and Samsung Electronics shed 7.4%, with both hitting lows not seen since August; SK Hynix's U.S.-listed shares were down ~5% in premarket trading.
- SoftBank Group sank 8.5% in Tokyo, leading a broader Japanese retreat — Tokyo Electron dropped 7.2%, Renesas shed 5.9%, Lasertec fell over 5%, and Disco lost 4.7% — as the group's massive OpenAI exposure amplified the AI sentiment shock.
- ASML dropped 3.3% in early European trade, with STMicroelectronics and Infineon both down 5% and Dutch firms BE Semiconductor and ASM International each losing ~4%.
- Micron slipped ~3% in U.S. premarket after a 3.9% drop Monday, with SanDisk, Seagate and Western Digital all around 3% lower; the Nasdaq fell 0.44% in the prior session.
- Elon Musk added fuel to the sell-off with a Monday post stating that "when China figures out how to manufacture a product, their ability to scale is often greater than the rest of the world combined."
- UBP's Vey-Sern Ling said investors are "looking for excuses to take profit on AI-related stocks that have outperformed this year," while Intel and Broadcom CEOs warned that capital access could become a major headwind to the AI boom even as compute demand outstrips supply.
Why it matters: A single Chinese chipmaker's architecture update triggered double-digit drops at SK Hynix and Samsung, exposing how exposed global chip valuations have become to any whiff of competitive risk. Analysts from UBP and Rayliant explicitly called the reaction disproportionate — CXMT still trails in HBM where the AI demand actually sits — meaning the rout measures investor anxiety about AI-trade pricing power, not an imminent competitive shift.
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