Tech stocks plunge as Fed rate hike fears, AI funding worries mount; ASML, SK Hynix slump

A sell-off in global technology hardware stocks deepened Thursday, with Asian and European chipmakers tracking Wall Street losses as concerns over further Federal Reserve interest rate hikes, financing of artificial intelligence investments and intensifying competition weigh on sentiment.

South Korean chip giant SK Hynix plunged more than 10%, while rival Samsung Electronics fell 8.73%. Other South Korean chip-related stocks also came under pressure. LG Innotek sank 8.95%, Seoul Semiconductor shed 9.28% and Samsung SDI declined 6.26%.

In Japan, technology investment giant SoftBank Group tumbled 7.9%. Semiconductor testing equipment maker Advantest plunged almost 14%, while chipmaking equipment supplier Tokyo Electron lost 6.45%. Renesas Electronics declined 8%. Taiwan's TSMC , the world's largest contract chipmaker, fell 1.81%.

Over in Europe, Dutch semiconductor giant ASML was last down 6.6%, Infineon Technologies shed 9.4%, and ASM International was down 9.6%, and Nokia fell 5%.

Why are stocks selling off?

The declines come as investors grow increasingly concerned that higher borrowing costs could weigh on the massive capital spending required to build out AI infrastructure, putting pressure on technology companies that have benefited from the AI investment boom.

Concerns around global memory chip oversupply as early as 2029, as manufacturers ramp up production capacity to meet surging demand from artificial intelligence, also seem to be weighing down sentiment.

China's ChangXin Memory Technologies, or CXMT, said over the weekend that it had made a breakthrough on a new architecture that could boost memory density by packing more data into a smaller space, signaling intensifying competition in the memory space. Elon Musk in an X post said China would be making "a LOT of RAM in 2028."

Chief executives of Broadcom and Intel, meanwhile, warned on Monday that financing could become a major headwind to the AI boom, with Broadcom's Hock Tan saying it could be bigger challenge to AI expansion than shortages of chips or electricity.

The sell-off followed a bruising session on Wall Street Wednesday, where technology shares led broader market losses after hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation data fueled concerns that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates further.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.88% to close at 26,692.87, while the S&P 500 shed 1.11% to end at 7,718.94.The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.09%.

Dan Ives, tech analyst at Yorkville Ives, said the latest sell-off in AI-related stocks reflects growing concerns over the cost of financing massive infrastructure projects as U.S. Treasury yields climb above 5%, but added that underlying demand for AI computing power remains robust.

"Higher yields raise the cost of financing these builds, and investors are right to focus on balance sheets and contract structure, but rates are a financing question, not a demand question," Ives said in a note.

The latest pullback presents a buying opportunity, Ives said, adding that the AI infrastructure boom remained in its early stages despite mounting concerns over funding costs.

"What would change our view is a demand signal, not a rate signal," he said, pointing to potential cuts in hyperscaler capital expenditure plans, canceled contracts or falling GPU rental prices as warning signs.