Asia’s Tech Stocks Take the Hit as Apple and Microsoft Push Chip Costs to Consumers
At the same time, SoftBank Group dropped more than 12%, fueling a broad Asian selloff after Apple and Microsoft raised product prices, confirming that soaring AI chip costs have begun forcing Big Tech’s hand.
South Korea’s KOSPI showed the damage of a Western market in flux. June 25th’s close was 8,930.31, but it quickly dropped in early trading on Friday to around 8,600.
AI Chip Crisis Reaches the Consumer
Apple raised prices on MacBooks and iPads by up to $300 on June 25, citing an “unprecedented” surge in memory and storage chip costs driven by AI data center demand. Its shares closed more than 6% lower.
Microsoft followed hours later, announcing Xbox console price increases of $100 to $150 per model, effective August 1. Microsoft stock fell 3.5%. The back-to-back announcements from two of the world’s most valuable technology companies confirmed what investors had feared: the AI chip shortage is no longer an industry-level problem. It now hits consumer prices directly.
Asia Bears the Brunt
That confirmation rattled Asian markets on Friday. South Korea’s SK Hynix and Samsung fell more than 4%. SK Square, a technology holding company with heavy semiconductor exposure, declined around 7%. Japan’s chip equipment maker Advantest dropped more than 6%, while Tokyo Electron fell over 2%.
Off the back of declines by its major companies, SK Hynix and Samsung, the KOSPI fell in early trading. Image Source: Trading View
SoftBank faces additional headwinds beyond the regional selloff. Its chip design subsidiary Arm Holdings fell 3.2% overnight, underperforming even as broader AI stocks recovered.
Analysts at Ortus Advisors noted investor enthusiasm for SoftBank may also be capped by reports that OpenAI could push back its IPO to 2027, as the company struggles to attract demand at a $1 trillion valuation. SoftBank ranks among OpenAI’s most prominent backers.
Matt Maley, strategist at Miller Tabak, put the broader concern plainly.
“A few cracks have developed in the tech sector recently. Therefore, we believe it will be extremely important to watch how these hyperscalers trade going forward because if they continue to decline, it’s going to make it very tough for the rest of the market to advance.”
— Matt Maley, Miller Tabak
Micron’s stronger-than-expected earnings and Qualcomm’s AI data center chip deal with Meta offered partial relief. But SoftBank’s aggressive AI infrastructure bets leave it particularly exposed to any sustained repricing of the trade.
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