Why is SK Hynix stock sliding today?

SK Hynix shares experienced a 4.1% decline on Monday, trading at ₩1,737,000, as doubts grew over the artificial intelligence trade. Several major frontier labs issued a joint statement urging a slowdown in AI development, which posed a direct threat to the memory chip demand outlook that had fueled SK Hynix's earnings growth. As the world's leading supplier of High Bandwidth Memory to AI data centers, SK Hynix is highly sensitive to any signals that could moderate AI infrastructure spending, and the statement prompted an immediate reassessment of near-term demand within the memory sector.

The AI-specific concern was further exacerbated by the U.S. core consumer price index reading, which was hotter than expected, raising the likelihood of a Federal Reserve rate hike during the upcoming September 15–16 FOMC meeting. This, in turn, encouraged investors to lock in gains following the sharp rally driven by AI-related optimism last week.

The broader Korean market did not offer any respite, as the KOSPI opened down over 3%, affected by unresolved Middle East tensions, surging oil prices, and rising U.S. Treasury yields. Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix's closest domestic competitor and another major HBM developer, also saw a significant decline.