# SK Hynix falls 10%, SoftBank 7.9% as hot US inflation and Fed hike fears hit AI chip stocks

Source: Searchable (https://searchable.pk/news/markets/sk-hynix-falls-10percent-softbank-79percent-as-hot-us-inflation-and-fed-hike)
Type: News article
Author: Searchable Editorial
Published: 15 Oct 2026
Updated: 15 Oct 2026
Retrieved: 15 Oct 2026

> Asian chipmakers followed Wall Street down on Thursday morning after US September CPI came in at 3.7%. Markets now put the odds of a Fed rate rise on 28 October above 50%.

**SK Hynix shares plunged more than 10%** in Seoul on Thursday morning as a sell-off in AI hardware stocks spread across Asia, [CNBC reported](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/15/sk-hynix-samsung-softbank-stocks-asia-tech-rout-ai-funding-worries.html). The trigger was in Washington: US inflation for September came in hotter than expected on Wednesday, and traders now think the Federal Reserve is more likely than not to raise rates again this month.

## The biggest falls in Asia on Thursday

| Company | Market | Move |
| --- | --- | --- |
| SK Hynix | Seoul | down more than 10% |
| LG Innotek | Seoul | down 8.1% |
| SoftBank Group | Tokyo | down 7.9% |
| Seoul Semiconductor | Seoul | down 7.7% |
| Samsung Electronics | Seoul | down 7.1% |
| Advantest | Tokyo | down 6.9% |
| Samsung SDI | Seoul | down 6.8% |
| Tokyo Electron | Tokyo | down 5.4% |
| Renesas Electronics | Tokyo | down 5.4% |

Korean chip stocks were already under pressure: earlier this week the KOSPI [crashed 5.9% below 6,000](/news/markets/kospi-crashes-59percent-below-6000-as-chip-rout-hits-samsung-and-sk-hynix-korea).

## Wall Street led the way down

On Wednesday the **Nasdaq Composite fell 1.88% to 26,692.87** and the **S&P 500 lost 1.11% to 7,718.94**, while the Dow Jones slipped 0.09%. Tech led the losses after the September consumer price index showed inflation at **3.7% a year**, against forecasts of 3.6%, with petrol prices up 9.1%. Our report on the [US inflation figures](/news/us/us-inflation-jumps-to-37percent-in-september-as-petrol-rises-91percent-social) has the details.

According to CME Group's FedWatch tool, cited by [Cointelegraph](https://cointelegraph.com/markets/bitcoin-price-dips-yields-surge-as-high-oil-prices-spike-us-cpi-inflation), the odds of a **25 basis point Fed hike on 28 October rose to 53.7%**, from 22.1% the day before. The US 10-year Treasury yield touched **5.329%**, close to a 24-year high.

## Why higher rates hurt AI stocks

Building AI data centres takes enormous amounts of borrowed money, and higher rates make that money more expensive. On Monday the chief executives of Broadcom and Intel warned that financing could become a bigger obstacle to AI growth than chip or power shortages, CNBC said. Not everyone is selling: analyst Dan Ives of Yorkville Ives called rates "a financing question, not a demand question" and said he would only change his view if big cloud companies cut spending or GPU rental prices fell.

## Bitcoin and gold

**Bitcoin** slipped below **$82,000** after the inflation figures, and gold fell to **$4,079 an ounce** before steadying. Our [bitcoin price page](/data/btc-usd) showed **$81,715** at 6:40am PKT, about **Rs 2.26 crore** a coin at the interbank dollar rate.

## What to watch in Pakistan today

Locally, gold in Karachi stood at **Rs 430,332 a tola** for 24 karat at 6:40am, on our [gold rate page](/data/gold-24k-tola), and the **KSE-100** closed its last session at **165,417.5** (see the [KSE-100 page](/data/kse-100)). The Pakistan Stock Exchange opens at 9:30am PKT, and the question for local investors is whether the global risk-off mood spreads to Karachi. The next US data point is the September producer price index on Friday.

## Frequently asked questions

**Why did SK Hynix shares fall on 15 October 2026?**

US consumer inflation for September came in at 3.7%, above forecasts, raising the chance of another Federal Reserve rate rise. Investors worry higher borrowing costs will make AI data centres harder to finance, which hit chipmakers such as SK Hynix (down more than 10%) and Samsung (down 7.1%).

## Sources

- SK Hynix shares plunge 10% amid Asia tech rout as Fed rate hike fears, AI funding worries mount (CNBC): https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/15/sk-hynix-samsung-softbank-stocks-asia-tech-rout-ai-funding-worries.html
- Bitcoin gives up $82,000 as hot US CPI sends bonds toward new highs (Cointelegraph): https://cointelegraph.com/markets/bitcoin-price-dips-yields-surge-as-high-oil-prices-spike-us-cpi-inflation

How to cite: "SK Hynix falls 10%, SoftBank 7.9% as hot US inflation and Fed hike fears hit AI chip stocks", Searchable, 15 Oct 2026, https://searchable.pk/news/markets/sk-hynix-falls-10percent-softbank-79percent-as-hot-us-inflation-and-fed-hike