Asia-Pacific Tech Stocks in Deep Red! Semiconductor Giants from Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea Plummet – Should Investors Buy the Dip or Cut Losses?

Following declines in U.S. markets, Asia-Pacific technology stocks extended their sell-off on the 29th, with semiconductor stocks from Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea leading the downturn. South Korea's chip giant SK Hynix reported record-high quarterly revenue and profits, but its stock price collapsed by over 15% in a single day as results fell slightly short of market analysts' expectations. Its main rival, Samsung Electronics, also plunged over 8%. In response to this sustained downturn, Kieron Poon, Aberdeen Investments' Asia-Pacific Investment Director, noted that the weakness reflects ongoing deleveraging in the Korean market and a broader cooling of global tech stocks. However, he emphasized that his team maintains a bullish long-term outlook on semiconductors. Semiconductor stocks across Taiwan and Japan also suffered heavy losses. Alongside the sharp drop in Korea's KOSPI, Japanese chip stocks fell sharply: flash memory leader Kioxia plunged 14%, semiconductor equipment giant Tokyo Electron dropped 12.6%, and SoftBank Group, which holds stakes in Arm, fell nearly 10%. In Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Chinese markets, global chipmaking leader TSMC declined 3.5%, China's ChiNext 300 Index fell 0.63%, and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Semiconductor Index dropped over 6%. This decline continues the weak performance seen in U.S. chip stocks, where Intel fell nearly 6%, AMD dropped 8%, memory giants Micron and Seagate both declined over 8%, Western Digital fell nearly 7%, and Sandisk plunged 14%. Despite the sharp sell-off, Kieron Poon remains highly confident in the semiconductor sector, viewing this downturn as a buying opportunity rather than a sign of deteriorating fundamentals. Poon told foreign media that market corrections have pulled valuations back to more attractive levels, creating opportunities for investors to add positions in high-quality companies at more reasonable prices. David Riedel, founder of Riedel Research Group, also stated that the correction in AI chip stocks is merely investors unwinding previous bubbles. While concerns remain over AI funding and potential competition from China, he believes the overall market remains healthy and company performance will stay robust. Despite delivering strong quarterly results, SK Hynix's stock still plunged. (AP Photo) Amid the broad red across Asia-Pacific markets, Chinese internet giants listed in Hong Kong showed resilience. Tencent and Meituan rose 4% and 2.49% respectively, while Alibaba, Baidu, and Kuaishou all opened higher and closed in positive territory. China's recently listed memory chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) continued its upward trend on the 29th, gaining 3.83% for the day.