Dragged down by a significant decline in the South Korean Composite Index ( KOSPI ), the sell-off in the chip sector further intensified, with Micron ( MU ) and SK Samsung Electronics' ( SKHY ) stock prices plummeting by 5% on Tuesday.

In the South Korean domestic market, SK Hynix (000660.) and Samsung Electronics (005930.) fell by 10% and 7% respectively, with both companies experiencing declines for five consecutive trading days. The total market value of these two chip companies accounts for more than half of the total market value of the South Korean stock market.

The trigger for this wave of selling was the announcement by China's memory chip manufacturer ChangXin Memory (CXMT, 688825. SS) of key progress in a new type of memory cell design, which allows for greater storage capacity in a smaller physical space.

Yangtze Memory Technology Co., Ltd. plans to launch a new generation of server memory products based on this architecture by the end of 2026.

This technological breakthrough may intensify industry competition, while three companies—Samsung, SK, Hynix, and American Micron—collectively hold approximately 90% of the global DRAM market share.

Over the past year, the construction of artificial intelligence data centers around the world has driven a surge in demand for memory and storage chips. Micron, SK, SK Hynix, and Samsung have all become major beneficiaries of the AI market trend, with each of these three storage chip companies' market values once exceeding one trillion dollars. However, now all three stocks have fallen from their historical highs.

Last week, Samsung announced that its profits for the third quarter reached $80 billion, but this earnings forecast did not boost the performance of the other stocks in the chip sector.

Micron's revenue and profits in the fourth quarter exceeded market expectations, and it also provided strong guidance for performance in the next quarter; the stock has gained approximately 240% so far this year.