South Korean semiconductor shares extended their losses as investors grew increasingly concerned about the sustainability of AI spending and rising competition from Chinese chipmakers. Bitcoin, meanwhile, continued to trade well above its summer bottom.
The KOSPI slid 5.5% during Tuesday’s Asian session, putting the index around 38% below its record high set in June. The downturn marks a significant reversal in South Korean equities, while Bitcoin has recovered approximately 40% from its summer low.
Bitcoin reached a bottom near $58,000 shortly after the KOSPI peaked and later climbed to around $87,000. Its 20-day rolling correlation with the Korean benchmark stands at -0.41 on the weekly chart, suggesting a moderately negative relationship between their price movements.
The divergence could indicate that Bitcoin is holding up better as investors reduce their exposure to AI-linked stocks. Still, the correlation does not confirm that investors are shifting funds directly from equities into cryptocurrency.
The latest selloff followed comments from Broadcom (AVGO) CEO Hock Tan, who compared speculative AI investments with gambling in a casino, according to the Financial Times. The remarks renewed questions about whether AI-related businesses can deliver returns that justify their substantial infrastructure spending. Meanwhile, Chinese memory-chip maker CXMT’s advances have intensified concerns about competitive pressure and the ability of established manufacturers to maintain profit margins, Bloomberg reported.
SK Hynix shares fell approximately 10%, while Samsung Electronics lost about 7%. The weakness extended into U.S. premarket trading, with Micron Technology (MU) and SanDisk (SNDK), two memory and storage chipmakers, each declining around 3%.
