Chip stocks were in the red premarket on Tuesday after Asian markets fell, including South Korea’s KOSPI Composite Index (KOSPI), amid ongoing clashes between the U.S. and Iran.
KOSPI closed at 5,791.91, down 7.24%, while Japan’s Nikkei declined 3.1% to close at 56,279.05. Meanwhile, the Shanghai Stock Exchange dipped about 1.43%, and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange tumbled around 3.07%.
Shares of South Korean giant Samsung Electronics (SSNLF) slumped about 10%, while compatriot and rival chipmaker SK hynix’s (HXSC.F) stock plummeted nearly 11.5% in Korea on Tuesday.
Over the weekend, the U.S. and Israel carried out coordinated attacks on Iran that killed senior military and government leadership, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, triggering an Iranian response. The ongoing crisis has rattled the markets, including the potential impact on regional energy supplies.
AI chipmaker Nvidia’s (NVDA) stock slumped about 3% premarket on Tuesday. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) declined around 4%. Broadcom (AVGO) fell nearly 3%, while Qualcomm (QCOM) dipped roughly 2%.
Several other AI and networking-related stocks were also in the red. Lumentum (LITE) tumbled about 8%, while Coherent (COHR) slumped nearly 6%. Ciena (CIEN) and Celestica (CLS) each fell around 5%, while Arista Networks (ANET) declined roughly 3%. Cisco (CSCO) dipped about 1%.
Shares of memory maker Micron Technology (MU), a rival of SK hynix and Samsung, tumbled 6% premarket on Tuesday. Meanwhile, GlobalFoundries (GFS), Arm (ARM), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM), and Intel (INTC) each slumped about 5%. Marvell Technology (MRVL) and Lattice Semiconductor (LSCC) each declined nearly 4%, while Analog Devices (ADI) and Texas Instruments (TXN) each fell around 1%.
Chip equipment makers: ASML (ASML) tumbled 6%, while Lam Research (LRCX) slumped around 5%. Applied Materials (AMAT) and KLA (KLAC) each fell around 4%.