A sell-off in some of the world’s largest semiconductor stocks, spanning Wall Street and Asia, has wiped off more than $500 billion in market value as investors opt to take profits amid concerns about inflated valuations.

South Korea’s equity benchmark KOSPI, which has been the biggest gainer among all Asia-Pacific indices, fell more than 6% on Wednesday, 5 November, with losses led by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, both of which fell as much as 6% in early trading before recovering from their low points. The two equities have increased by more than 80% and 200% in 2025, respectively.

In Japan, Advantest Corp. plummeted more than 10%, affecting the performance of the Nikkei 225 index. TSMC, the world’s largest contract chip producer, also dropped more than 3%. The selling pressure in these equities, along with the sell-off in the Philadelphia Semiconductor index on Tuesday, has erased roughly half a trillion in combined market value.

The Philadelphia SOX measure is selling at about 28 times estimated forward earnings, compared to a five-year average of less than 22 times.

AI-led stocks have propelled benchmark indices on Wall Street and other Asian indices to new highs. Despite concerns about stretched valuations and interest rates remaining high for an extended period of time, equities have continued to outperform.

Palantir’s shares plunged more than 8% despite an earnings beat, triggering Tuesday’s Wall Street catastrophe.  The company has climbed 175% so far in 2025 and now trades at a one-year forward price-to-sales ratio of more over 80 times, making it the most expensive stock on the S&P 500. Investors were also disappointed by Nvidia rival AMD’s poor guidance.

Unlock profitable opportunities every day! Unicorn Signals provides actionable intraday trading signals for stocks and futures. Don’t miss out – download Unicorn Signals and start winning now!