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SK hynix Inc. (SKHY) stock remains under pressure on Thursday as investors weigh a broader memory-chip selloff, rising Chinese competition, tight NAND supply and concerns about the sustainability of AI infrastructure spending.
The stock fell nearly 7% in Thursday's premarket trading.
The stock has fallen sharply from its summer peak as higher-rate fears and funding concerns across the AI trade drive investors out of semiconductor names.
SK hynix and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (SSNLF) each fell more than 9% Thursday as worries over Federal Reserve tightening and AI financing pressured Asian technology stocks.
South Korea's Kospi dropped nearly 8% and entered a bear market, falling about 21% from its September high.
SK hynix has now declined 57% from its summer peak after previously becoming one of Asia's biggest beneficiaries of the AI-memory trade, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.
Vantage Global Prime analyst Hebe Chen told Bloomberg that Korea has become a "shock absorber" for the global AI selloff, with CoreWeave, Inc. (CRWV) funding concerns and hotter U.S. inflation raising questions about borrowing costs and the durability of AI spending.
CNBC's Jim Cramer said weakness in SK hynix has become an important driver of broader semiconductor trading.
"Our chipmakers are joined at the hip with SK Hynix, not NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA)," Cramer said.
He also said investors should focus on rising memory requirements across AI systems and consumer devices, while noting SK hynix has more exposure than Micron to Chinese competition.
D.A. Davidson Head of Technology Research Gil Luria said Chinese DRAM suppliers are improving but remain concentrated in lower-end products rather than high-bandwidth memory.
"If there's an impact, there's some impact on SK hynix and Samsung. It's not on Micron," Luria told CNBC.
Still, he remained constructive on the cycle, saying, "Results have gotten better, outlooks have gotten better, visibility has gotten better."
Separately, SK hynix is also seeking U.S. approval to export additional chipmaking equipment to its Dalian, China, operation while evaluating further U.S. NAND manufacturing investment.
Solidigm, SK hynix's U.S. unit, wants to install more equipment in unused space at the Dalian site. SK hynix said the work is being carried out "in close consultation with and under authorization from the U.S. government" and said it is not seeking to expand the facility's overall capacity, Reuters reported on Thursday.
Higher production could help Solidigm finance a future U.S. NAND fab. Solidigm is also considering an IPO as early as next year.
SK hynix has separately discussed leasing part of Intel Corp. (INTC) planned Ohio facility. It has also broken ground on an Indiana advanced-packaging plant for high-bandwidth memory.
SKHY Price Action: SK hynix shares were down 6.91% at $137.36 during premarket trading on Thursday, according to market data.
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