Samsung and SK Hynix Stocks Fall Over 8%: What Is Driving the Memory Chip Sell-Off?

TLDR

• Samsung and SK Hynix shares fell about 8% in Seoul, hitting their lowest levels since August.
• South Korea’s KOSPI index dropped as much as 7% and fell below the 6,000 mark.
• China’s CXMT reported progress on a new memory-cell design, raising competition concerns.
• Micron fell 3.9% on Monday, and U.S. chip stocks were weak.
• Analysts say demand for memory chips is strong and the shortage could last through 2028.

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Shares of South Korean chip makers Samsung and SK Hynix fell sharply in Seoul on Tuesday. Both stocks hit their lowest intraday levels since August. The drop followed a sell-off in U.S. chip stocks.

South Korea’s KOSPI index fell as much as 7% and dropped below 6,000. Samsung shares were down about 8.5%, while SK Hynix was down about 9.1% at the time of writing. Both have now lost ground for five straight sessions.

SK hynix Inc., SKHY

The two companies make up more than half of the South Korean stock market’s total value. That is why their moves weigh so heavily on the index.

Wall Street Sell-Off Reaches Asia

The Seoul decline came after a weak Monday for U.S. tech stocks. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.44%. Micron dropped 3.9%, Nvidia lost 1.3%, Intel slid 3%, and SanDisk fell 6%.

🚨BREAKING: Asian markets turn into a sea of RED as geopolitical tensions and a semiconductor selloff drag ALL six major indices lower.

– South Korea’s KOSPI plunges -6.50% to 6,001.81, with SK Hynix shares tumbling over 8%.

– Japan’s Nikkei 225 drops -2.77%, shedding 1,911… pic.twitter.com/BgzxFaZQHU

— Coin Bureau (@coinbureau) October 13, 2026

Micron closed at $989.04 on Monday. In pre-market trading Tuesday, it was down another 2.56% to $963.70. SK Hynix’s U.S.-listed shares were also set to open lower.

Concerns about AI financing and rising competition weighed on investor sentiment. Some traders may also be taking profits in AI-related stocks that have done well this year, according to UBP senior equity advisor Vey-Sern Ling.

China’s CXMT Reports Chip Progress

Over the weekend, China’s ChangXin Memory Technologies, known as CXMT, reported progress on a new memory-cell design. The design aims to store more data in less physical space. It could increase memory density.

CXMT plans to introduce a new server memory product built on this design by the end of 2026. The news raised questions about future competition.

Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron together hold about 90% of the global DRAM market. Any new rival could affect that balance.

Ling said Chinese memory makers still face near-term technical hurdles, especially in advanced high-bandwidth memory, or HBM.

Phillip Wool, chief market strategist at Rayliant Global Advisors, said the CXMT news showed Chinese firms may be finding ways around technology restrictions. He said they could challenge established players sooner than expected.

Wool also said the market reaction looked too large for the near-term threat. CXMT has not shown large-scale production and still trails Samsung and SK Hynix in market share.

Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron have all gained from the AI trade over the past year. Demand for memory and storage chips has grown with the build-out of AI data centers. All three reached $1 trillion valuations over the summer.

Last week, Samsung reported a preliminary record third-quarter profit of $80 billion. The forecast did little to lift the rest of the chip sector. Micron also posted strong quarterly results in September, and its stock is up about 240% this year.

Many analysts remain upbeat on Samsung and SK Hynix. They expect both to benefit from higher AI infrastructure spending and a memory chip shortage that could last through 2028.

Investors are now watching the next round of corporate earnings for signs of whether strong memory demand will continue.