The decline spread across Asian technology names, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) falling about 1.7%, while Taiwan’s Foxconn dropped more than 4%. In South Korea, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix declined 1.3% and 2.8%, respectively.
SoftBank’s sharp fall comes despite a strong rally in its shares this year, driven by investor optimism around artificial intelligence. The stock had gained roughly 70% year-to-date and recently surpassed Toyota Motor Corp. to become Japan’s most valuable listed company.
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Investor sentiment, however, appears to be turning cautious amid concerns over valuations and SoftBank’s aggressive exposure to AI-related investments. Chief Executive Officer Masayoshi Son recently reiterated his bullish view on the technology, saying he expects the AI revolution to be significantly larger than the dot-com boom.
Speaking to CNBC earlier this week, Son said market corrections should be viewed as investment opportunities, drawing parallels with long-term technological shifts such as electrification and motorisation, which continued to expand despite periodic downturns.
Deutsche Bank analyst Peter Milliken said in a recent note that investors appear increasingly focused on near-term market momentum, making it difficult for many to assess the longer-term trajectory of AI-related businesses.
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The weakness in Asia followed a sell-off in major US technology stocks overnight. Nvidia declined 3.6%, Amazon.com fell 2.5%, while Alphabet lost nearly 0.8%.
Separately, SoftBank’s affiliate SVF II Lightbulb (Cayman) sold a 3.25% stake in Indian eyewear retailer Lenskart on Wednesday. The transaction involved the sale of 56.5 million shares at ₹508.55 apiece, valuing the deal at about ₹2,873 crore.
SoftBank shares were last trading 11.3% lower at 7,377 yen.
