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Chip-related shares fell across markets on October 12–13, 2026, but the reported declines came in different sessions: Micron lost 3.9% in Monday U.S. trading, while SoftBank fell 8.5% in Tuesday trading in Tokyo. South Korean chipmakers dropped more sharply on Tuesday. The reports point to concern about Chinese rival CXMT and wider doubts about AI spending, competition and future margins—not proof that one development caused every stock’s move. ASML’s scheduled earnings release on October 14 is a near-term event investors will watch for information on orders and demand.
What fell, and when
The selloff crossed markets, but these figures are not all from the same trading session. The Associated Press reported Micron Technology down 3.9% at Monday’s U.S. close, October 12, and SoftBank Group down 8.5% during Tokyo trading on Tuesday, October 13. Reuters described SoftBank as about 8% lower in a contemporaneous snapshot, so the 8.5% figure should be understood as AP’s report for Tuesday trading, not a universal close-to-close comparison.
| Market or company | Reported move | Session and context |
|---|---|---|
| Micron Technology | Down 3.9% | Monday, October 12, U.S. trading; AP reports the U.S. close. |
| SoftBank Group | Down 8.5% | Tuesday, October 13, Tokyo trading, according to AP; Reuters reported about 8% lower in a contemporaneous snapshot. |
| South Korea’s Kospi | Down 5.5% to 6,035.35 | Tuesday, October 13, after falling more than 7% intraday, according to AP. |
| Samsung Electronics | Down 7.4% | Tuesday, October 13, in AP’s report. |
| SK Hynix | Down 10.1% | Tuesday, October 13, in AP’s report. |
| S&P 500 | Down 0.1% | Monday, October 12, according to AP. |
| Nasdaq Composite | Down 0.4% | Monday, October 12, according to AP. |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | Up 0.4% | Monday, October 12, according to AP. |
The U.S. index moves show why this is better described as pressure on chip and technology shares than as a broad market crash: the S&P 500 was down just 0.1% on Monday, while the Dow advanced. South Korea’s sharp decline captures the regional intensity of the semiconductor selloff, not a direct proxy for any single U.S. stock. (AP, October 13; AP, October 12)
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Why semiconductor shares came under pressure
CXMT raised competitive questions for memory makers
Reports that Chinese chipmaker CXMT had made progress on a DRAM architecture intended to increase memory density added a near-term competitive concern for Micron, Samsung and SK Hynix. Investors may worry that a rival could eventually challenge established suppliers, but the reporting does not establish that CXMT has achieved commercial-scale performance, production yields, customer qualification, shipment volumes or market displacement. Those steps matter: an architecture advance is not, on its own, proof that a competitor can supply memory at scale.
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The move therefore reflects concern about the possibility of stronger competition, not confirmation that incumbent memory companies have already lost customers or pricing power. (AP, October 13; The Guardian, October 13)
Investors were also weighing the durability of the AI trade
The CXMT headlines arrived as investors questioned how quickly AI demand can grow and how long unusually strong profits and margins across the supply chain can last. Reuters quoted Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo, saying, “The CXMT news appears to have been a clear trigger for the selloff in memory stocks, but I think the bigger story is that investors are becoming much less forgiving of the AI trade.” That frames the memory news as a trigger within a broader reassessment, rather than a complete explanation for every decline. (Reuters, republished by MarketScreener, October 13)
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Other reporting highlighted concern about the cost of financing the AI buildout and the effect of higher interest rates on debt-funded deals. Those worries can affect sentiment toward companies with different roles in the AI supply chain, even when the immediate concern about memory competition is specific to memory makers. The available reports do not establish whether AI infrastructure spending will ultimately generate durable returns. (Bloomberg, republished by Livemint, October 13)
Why Micron, SoftBank and ASML are not the same bet
The three names are connected to the semiconductor and AI investment cycle, but they have different business exposures. Treating their share moves as interchangeable would obscure what investors are weighing in each case.
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| Company | Business exposure | Risk highlighted by the reports |
|---|---|---|
| Micron | Memory-chip producer. | Memory competition, including investor concern about CXMT’s reported DRAM progress, alongside questions about AI demand and memory-sector margins. |
| SoftBank Group | Investment company with AI exposure; the reporting identifies it as an OpenAI investor. | Broader unease about AI spending, financing and expected returns. The reports do not provide a comparable, fully sourced breakdown of its portfolio exposure. |
| ASML | Semiconductor equipment maker. | Investors can look to company orders and guidance for clues about demand. The cited material does not verify an October 13 share-price decline or establish that ASML fell by a particular percentage that day. |
For Micron, the reported competitive issue is directly about memory. For an equipment maker such as ASML, orders and guidance can provide a different lens on semiconductor demand. SoftBank’s AI exposure is through investment activity rather than memory-chip manufacturing, and the cited reporting does not support attributing its Tuesday drop to the same company-specific catalyst as Micron’s decline. (AP, October 13; The Guardian, October 13; ASML investor relations)
What to watch in ASML’s October 14 results
ASML’s investor-relations calendar scheduled its third-quarter 2026 results for Wednesday, October 14, at 07:00 CET, followed by an investor call at 15:00 CET. Results and management commentary may add information about orders, customer demand and the company’s outlook. They cannot be assumed in advance to confirm either strong AI demand or a slowdown, and the schedule alone says nothing about the direction of ASML’s shares. (ASML, “Quarterly results,” checked October 13, 2026)
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What the selloff does—and does not—establish
- It establishes a cross-market decline in the reported sessions. Micron’s Monday U.S. decline and SoftBank’s Tuesday Tokyo decline happened on different days and should not be presented as synchronized measurements.
- It shows that investors were reacting to competitive and AI-related uncertainty. Reporting connected memory-share pressure with CXMT’s reported architecture progress and broader questions about AI spending, financing and margins.
- It does not prove CXMT has displaced established suppliers. The cited accounts do not establish commercial-scale yields, customer uptake, shipment volumes or displaced sales.
- It does not establish a specific ASML decline on October 13. The cited material supports the earnings schedule, but not a reliable same-session percentage.
- It does not settle the long-term outlook for AI investment. The reports document investor concerns, not a measured probability that demand will contract or that current investment will fail to earn durable returns.
AP’s October 12 account also described U.S. indexes near records despite declines among large technology shares. Principal Asset Management strategist Magdalena Ocampo said AI continued to support growth and critical suppliers, while uncertainty about AI’s long-term impact made future gains more dependent on earnings delivery than potential. That distinction captures the market tension: enthusiasm for AI demand remains, but investors are demanding evidence that expectations can translate into results. (AP, October 12)
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