Global AI hardware stocks plunge as CAPEX growth expectations slide

On October 15, 2026, AI hardware stocks fell sharply around the world. The Guardian reported that fears over rising inflation and future interest rate hikes triggered an accelerating sell-off in AI-linked shares, dragging down global markets. South Korea's benchmark Kospi 200 index, which is heavily weighted toward chipmakers, dropped steeply, with Samsung and SoftBank among the biggest decliners.

A same-day report from East Money put numbers to the slide. Overnight, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell more than 4%, bringing its loss over seven straight sessions to over 11% — its longest losing streak since May 2025 — with the combined market value of its components down by more than $1 trillion. Marvell dropped over 8%, Arm nearly 7%, AMD more than 5%, while Intel and Micron each fell over 4% and Nvidia and ASML more than 3%. Asia-Pacific markets followed: Advantest plunged nearly 15%, Kioxia over 12%, SK Hynix over 11%, Samsung Electronics over 9%, Tokyo Seimitsu nearly 9% and Tokyo Electron nearly 8%. In mainland China, Eoptolink fell over 7%, while Zhongji Innolight, ChangXin Technology and Dongshan Precision each lost more than 5%, and GigaDevice and Yuanjie Technology dropped nearly 5%.

The report noted an unusual divergence: ASML, Micron and Eoptolink had posted better-than-expected results, yet their shares still fell. Wang Xiangjie, vice president of the Southwest Securities research institute and chief analyst for computing and overseas industries, said the market is no longer trading purely on 2026 earnings — it has already priced in sustained high AI infrastructure spending over the next two to three years. While the AI hardware sector remains strong, investors are reassessing long-term growth and valuations, which he said is different from an industry reversal. A recent JPMorgan research note also pointed to changes in big-tech capital expenditure expectations. The reports do not describe any further developments beyond this point.