A massive selloff ripped through global semiconductor stocks today.
South Korea’s KOSPI plunged 9.99%, one of the sharpest moves in recent history, as foreign investors dumped major chip names like Samsung and SK Hynix.
The damage spread globally.
The Nasdaq fell 2.2%.
The semiconductor SOX index dropped 7.9%.
The companies that carried the AI boom higher are suddenly facing a much harder question:
How much more money can be spent before investors demand results?
The biggest tech companies have been racing to build AI infrastructure.
More data centers.
More chips.
More power.
More spending.
For a long time, Wall Street rewarded every dollar poured into the AI race.
Now investors are looking at the other side of the trade.
The spending is enormous.
The valuations are enormous.
And the payoff still has to arrive.
Hedge funds are also unwinding leveraged tech positions, adding more pressure to a crowded trade.
This is how big market moves usually start.
Not with people suddenly believing the technology is useless.
But with investors asking whether the price they paid for the future became too high.
The AI story is still alive.
But the market is no longer giving every AI company a free pass.