Samsung, SK Hynix fall over 8% as Asian stocks decline on tech weakness

Published Tue, Jul 7, 2026 · 10:32 AM — Updated Tue, Jul 7, 2026 · 01:28 PM

ASIAN equities dropped as technology shares came under renewed selling pressure as investors rotated into other corners of the market and oil rose after a Qatari LNG ship was struck.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index retreated 1.2 per cent, with more than two stocks falling for every one that rose.

Samsung Electronics, whose shares have more than doubled this year, slipped 8.3 per cent even after its quarterly profit surged 19-times.

That weighed on the Kospi index, which retreated 6.7 per cent. The chip sector remained in focus, with SK Hynix shares dropping 8.3 per cent after kicking off the formal marketing process for its US listing.

Among the main moves across markets, the S&P 500 futures fell 0.2 per cent as of 12.28 pm Tokyo time as Japan’s Topix fell 0.2 per cent.

Meanwhile, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.4 per cent as Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.4 per cent. The Shanghai Composite fell 1 per cent.

US equity index futures also edged lower in Asian trading. Contracts for the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index declined 0.8 per cent, indicating Monday’s rebound on Wall Street may be brief. European shares were also set for a modest loss.

Elsewhere, Brent crude rose 0.6 per cent to about US$72.45 a barrel after a laden liquefied natural gas carrier was struck by a projectile near the Omani coast as it exited the Strait of Hormuz, a fresh attack that tests the late-June peace deal.

Treasuries edged lower across the curve, with the yield on the 10-year rising one basis point to 4.48 per cent.

Investors are increasingly rotating out of tech stocks and into other sectors as they reassess the next phase of the artificial intelligence trade.

While enthusiasm for the AI technology remains intact after US semiconductor shares posted a record quarter, attention has shifted to whether rising capital spending, intensifying competition and expanding capacity will generate the earnings growth needed to support elevated valuations.

“The market is in the process of levelling the valuation playing field,” said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade.

“After semiconductors stole the show for months, investors are now spreading their bets into other areas offering better value, which is tempering the earlier euphoria in high-beta tech names.”

This rotation may continue for some time until we see more parity in valuations between the high-flying semiconductor names and the rest of the market, Waterer said.

While tech shares fell, the financials and consumer subgroups of the MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced.

Elsewhere, the yen was a touch stronger around 161.85 per US dollar even as positioning data showed hedge funds turned the most negative on the Japanese currency since 2007.

Gold slipped for a second day to around US$4,140 an ounce, while a Bloomberg gauge of the dollar was little changed.

“The Kospi index is adjacent to its 50-day moving average, which was a buying zone for retail investors in late March. However, this time around there isn’t the same one-sided view that everything touching AI themes is a sure win,” said Mark Cranfield, markets live strategist at Bloomberg.

In Asia, attention was on Samsung’s earnings. The company’s quarterly profit soared past elevated expectations due to rocketing demand for memory chips needed in AI data centres.

Still, investors have become sceptical about the AI boom after massive gains.

Daily headlines on capacity additions, tech delays and rising debt levels that barely raised an eyebrow over the past few years are now seen as reasons to dump tech shares.

Samsung stock’s decline after the earnings showed that “investors might have already priced in solid results and are increasingly focused on the longer-term trajectory of the memory cycle”, said Albert Yong, managing partner at hedge fund Petra Capital Management. BLOOMBERG