On Friday, Asian tech shares experienced significant declines, primarily influenced by a poor earnings report from Broadcom that caused a ripple effect across the semiconductor sector. In South Korea, major players like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix saw their stock prices drop nearly 7% and over 8%, respectively.
Other tech companies, including Samsung SDI, LG Display, and LG Innotek, also faced losses ranging from 6% to 7.4%. Japanese tech stocks were similarly affected, with Tokyo Electron and Advantest declining over 6% and 5%, respectively. In Taiwan, key suppliers to Apple, such as Hon Hai Precision Industry and Pegatron, reported losses of 1.7% and 2.6%.
Notably, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) managed to rise slightly by 0.4%, contrasting with the overall trend. The broader market decline was exacerbated by a sell-off in U.S. semiconductor stocks, where Broadcom's shares plummeted more than 12% after missing revenue expectations for the fiscal second quarter.
This downturn also impacted the VanEck Semiconductor ETF, which fell over 1%, alongside losses for Arm Holdings and Micron Technology. Andrew Jackson, an equity strategist at Ortus Advisors, commented that after substantial gains, a correction was necessary for a reset in the market