‘Brutal session’ for chip stocks shows AI trade is turning
There are fears that rising interest rates could scupper spending spree bigger than the US' historic railroad boom.
On October 13, a sharp sell-off in shares of AI suppliers sent a clear message that the trade of the decade is shifting, with concerns that rising interest rates could undermine a spending spree larger than America's historic railroad boom. Since the launch of OpenAI's ChatGPT four years ago, capital has flowed into semiconductor companies, data center operators, cable firms, and any entity profiting from the unprecedented race to construct computing infrastructure.
However, signs of trouble emerged in June and have worsened across markets. In Asia, South Korean chipmaker shares continued their downward trend for a fifth consecutive day on October 13, with the KOSPI index falling over 6%, while Kioxia, a memory-maker, dropped 13%. In the US, the decline persisted into a fourth day on October 13, with the Philadelphia semiconductor index down 1.7% and Micron Technology falling 4%.
The SOX index remained up 68% for the year, and Micron's stock had tripled. The recent declines are the most significant since a similar sell-off at the end of July. The KOSPI is experiencing its longest losing streak in over two years, having fallen a quarter from July's highs, and Shanghai's tech-focused STAR Market has lost more than a third since July's peak.
The International Monetary Fund warned on October 13 that the consequences of an AI correction could be global, citing potential volatility around the AI build-out and the fact that capability investments and economic gains may not be as substantial as expected. Meanwhile, a data center IPO in Australia collapsed last week, and credit investors have become more selective when it comes to AI-related debt.
Firmus, a data center operator backed by Nvidia, canceled a US$5 billion (S$6.4 billion) initial public offering in Australia due to dwindling investor interest. Despite the current market turbulence, many do not anticipate the end of the AI trade altogether.
Written by urgent.news from Straits Times Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
