SoftBank shares slide over 8% amid renewed pressure on AI-linked stocks

Shares of Japan’s SoftBank Group resumed their slide on Friday, following a broader slump in AI-related stocks as investors once again grew wary of the sector’s lofty valuations.

The group, which holds a wide range of AI investments across infrastructure, semiconductor, and application companies, saw shares drop more than 8%.

This comes after SoftBank gained nearly 3% in the previous session, having plunged 10% on Wednesday to clock its worst day since April.

Other Japanese tech stocks also declined. Semiconductor testing equipment maker Advantest dropped over 6%, chipmaker Renesas Electronics fell nearly 4%, Tokyo Electron, a chip production equipment maker, declined 1.46%.

SoftBank holds a controlling stake in U.K.-based semiconductor designer Arm Holdings, whose chips help power mobile and AI processors globally. Shares of Nasdaq-listed Arm slid 1.21% overnight.

Separately, SoftBank considered acquiring U.S. chipmaker Marvell Technology Inc. earlier this year, Bloomberg recently reported citing people familiar with the matter.

The declines in Asian tech stocks also come after AI-related companies in the U.S. fell overnight

Qualcomm dropped almost 4%, despite strong quarterly results, after warning it could lose future Apple business. AMD, a strong performer Wednesday, slipped 7%, while Palantir and Oracle were down about 7% and 3%, respectively. Nvidia and Meta Platforms, another of the “Magnificent Seven,” also finished lower.

The excitement surrounding AI has raised worries that markets might be experiencing a tech bubble. Some experts argue that the valuations of AI companies are starting to resemble the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s, with stock prices rising well beyond realistic profit forecasts.