Micron plunges 3.9% as China catches up in memory technology; U.S. chip stocks fall across the board

[Financial News] Semiconductor-related stocks, including Micron, fell across the board on U.S. markets. Concerns that Chinese memory makers are catching up technologically came to the fore, while selling in artificial intelligence (AI)-related stocks spread across the semiconductor sector.
On the 12th (local time), the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index closed at 12,236.79, down 2.67% from the previous session.
Micron, a U.S. memory chipmaker, plunged 3.87% to close at $989.21. Intel fell 3.15%, AMD dropped 2.23%, and Nvidia and Broadcom declined 1.19% and 1.87%, respectively.
SK Hynix’s American depositary receipts (ADRs), listed on the U.S. stock market, also closed down 4.05% at $162.18.
Micron’s sharp drop was seen as having been influenced by news that Chinese memory maker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) had developed next-generation DRAM technology.
CXMT announced technical progress on a 4F² structure that reduces memory cell area and increases density. Concerns that Chinese companies could also become more competitive in the server DRAM market came to the fore, increasing selling pressure on U.S. memory-related stocks.
However, developing new technology does not immediately lead to mass production or increased market share. Investors are seen as wary about the impact China’s technological catch-up could have on competition among established memory manufacturers.
With AI-related stocks having risen sharply recently, concerns about profitability from large-scale data-center investment and profit-taking pressure are also cited as factors that dampened sentiment across the semiconductor sector.

[email protected] Lee Seok-woo, international affairs correspondent Reporter