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Korean Stocks Tumble as DeepSeek Model and AI Funding Fears Slam Chipmakers
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Moneycontrol•19-10-2026, 16:06
Korean Stocks Tumble as DeepSeek Model and AI Funding Fears Slam Chipmakers
- •South Korean stocks resumed declines with the benchmark Kospi dropping up to 3.2 percent.
- •Major chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix fell by more than 4 percent each during the session.
- •China's DeepSeek released an updated AI model that is faster and leaner, sparking fears that future demand for memory chips will decrease.
- •Market jitters are also fueled by mounting worries over the soaring costs and funding uncertainties surrounding US AI projects.
- •The Kospi recently suffered its worst weekly performance since October 2008 amid ongoing market volatility.
Key Questions Answered
South Korean stocks fell as DeepSeek’s latest model release sparked concerns over reduced memory chip demand and compounded broader market worries regarding AI financing and US tech spending uncertainties.
The benchmark Kospi dropped as much as 3.2%, while major chipmakers Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc. each fell by more than 4% before paring some of their losses.
DeepSeek released an update to its AI model over the weekend described as faster and leaner, which immediately fueled market worries that future AI infrastructure will require less memory capacity.
