Asian chip stocks tumble as AI slowdown calls rattle markets

SoftBank Group Corp saw its stock price fall 11% on Saturday, September 12, 2026, as a growing chorus of artificial intelligence executives called for slowing the pace of AI development. The selloff deepened on Monday across Asian markets, with South Korea's Kospi dropping 3.2% and SK hynix ↗ 0.94% falling 5.4% as chip stocks bore the brunt of the shift in sentiment.gurufocus+1

The trigger was an essay published Saturday by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei titled "We Must Pace the Frontier," in which he wrote that "we must slow the pace at which we improve the capabilities of AI models" and proposed a three-step framework including independent safety auditors, coordinated standards among democratic nations, and global cooperation. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman endorsed the call hours later, writing that "committing to having independent evaluators with employee-like access is a great idea, and we will do the same". Elon Musk and Google DeepMind's Demis Hassabis also expressed support.nytimes+3

Asian Markets Reel

Monday's trading in Seoul delivered the sharpest reaction. Samsung Electronics fell 3.4%, and together with SK hynix the two companies lost roughly 123 trillion won, or about $91 billion, in market value by early morning, according to TECHi calculations. Japan's Nikkei 225 slipped about 1%, with chip-testing equipment maker Advantest down 4.1% and Tokyo Electron off 2.1%.techi

SoftBank had already fallen nearly 4% in Tokyo on Friday before Amodei's essay was published, and the Monday selloff compounded its losses. The company holds a roughly 90% stake in Arm Holdings ↗ 4.17% and is set to own about 13% of OpenAI by October, making it one of the stocks most exposed to any reassessment of AI investment.gurufocus+1

Beyond AI: Oil and Rates Add Pressure

The AI concerns were not the only weight on markets. Oil prices climbed above $102 a barrel after Saudi Arabia shut its East-West pipeline following drone attacks near the Strait of Hormuz, and a planned regional meeting on shipping safety was postponed. The Federal Reserve is widely expected to raise interest rates on Wednesday, with CME FedWatch pricing in an 87% chance of a quarter-point hike after U.S. consumer prices rose 3.4% year-over-year in August.techi

The Business Times reported that while the AI slowdown calls may weigh on chipmaker stocks in the near term, market watchers expect limited long-term impact as spending on computing infrastructure remains strong. Kiwoom Securities analyst Han Ji-young told Seoul Economic Daily that investors should use the volatility to add to holdings rather than raise cash.businesstimes+1