Asian semiconductor shares fell again on Monday, with the Bloomberg Asia chip stock index dropping more than 2% to its lowest level since July, according to Bloomberg. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), SK Hynix and Japan’s Advantest were the main drags. The weakness spread across regional benchmarks: South Korea’s Kospi, coming off its biggest weekly drop since October 2008, fell more than 3% at one point before trimming losses; Japan’s Nikkei 225 slid as much as 2.3%; and Taiwan’s weighted index fell 2%.
Investors were focused on two pressure points. One was continued concern over funding for AI infrastructure in the US, including questions around CoreWeave’s financing capacity and cooler expectations for public listings by Anthropic and Nscale. The other was a weekend model update from Chinese AI company DeepSeek, which said the new release runs faster and uses fewer resources. That added to worries that lower storage requirements for AI models could eventually affect chip demand. Life Asset Management CEO Kang DaeKwun said uncertainty remains too high to tell when South Korean equities may bottom, adding that financing for US corporate AI projects is one of the main risks. This week’s earnings from Meta and Tesla are seen as a key test of whether AI capital spending growth is holding up.
Asian semiconductor stocks extended their decline on Monday, with the Bloomberg Asia chip stock index falling more than 2% to its lowest level since July, according to Bloomberg. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), SK Hynix and Japan’s Advantest were the biggest drags.
Regional benchmarks came under pressure
South Korea’s Kospi, after posting its biggest weekly drop since October 2008 last week, fell more than 3% at one point on Monday before recovering part of the loss. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped as much as 2.3%, while Taiwan’s weighted index fell 2%.
Two concerns drove the sell-off
Markets were focused on two issues.
The first was ongoing pressure around financing for AI infrastructure in the US. CoreWeave’s ability to raise funding has come under scrutiny, while expectations for listings by Anthropic and Nscale have cooled.
The second was a weekend model update from Chinese artificial intelligence company DeepSeek, which said its new model runs faster and uses fewer resources. That raised concern that lower storage requirements for AI models could reduce demand for chips.
What investors are watching this week
Life Asset Management CEO Kang DaeKwun said uncertainty in the market remains too high to judge when South Korean stocks may find a bottom. He added that financing for US corporate AI projects is one of the main risks, and that earnings at South Korean chipmakers still depend heavily on continued AI infrastructure spending by US companies.
Earnings from major technology companies including Meta and Tesla are due this week, and investors are treating them as an important window into whether growth in AI capital expenditure is holding up.
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