Shares of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix plummeted more than 7% in early Thursday trading, dragging down South Korea's benchmark Kospi after the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slumped overnight. Samsung Electronics tumbled more than 7% while SK Hynix sank over 9% at the open, wiping out billions in market value as Asia's largest chipmakers bore the brunt of the global tech selloff. SK Square, the largest shareholder of SK Hynix, also fell more than 10%, mirroring broader losses across the semiconductor sector.

The selloff tracks a dismal start to July for the Nasdaq as investors aggressively dumped chip stocks. In Wednesday's session on Wall Street, Micron Technology shares dived more than 10%, despite its stunning 260% gain year-to-date, while Sandisk also shed over 10% overnight. Other mega-cap tech heavyweights, including Nvidia and Broadcom, joined the decline, falling between 1% and 2%.