Updated
Updated · Yahoo Finance · Aug 25
TSMC, Samsung and SK Hynix Drive 57% of EM Gains as Their Weight Hits 26.7%
Updated
Updated · Yahoo Finance · Aug 25

TSMC, Samsung and SK Hynix Drive 57% of EM Gains as Their Weight Hits 26.7%

3 articles · Updated · Yahoo Finance · Aug 25

Summary

  • Three semiconductor stocks—TSMC, Samsung and SK Hynix—generated about 57% of Morningstar’s emerging-markets benchmark 30.3% gain over the past year, underscoring how heavily AI has shaped returns.
  • Their combined weight in the index has climbed to 26.7%, meaning investors seeking broad developing-world exposure are increasingly tied to a narrow semiconductor bet centered on Taiwan and South Korea.
  • That concentration is already magnifying downside: when Samsung and SK Hynix dropped sharply from late June, the trio accounted for a large share of the index’s 6.8% decline, with chip stocks sliding again Monday.
  • The surge has been extreme—TSMC is up 96% over the year, Samsung 258% and SK Hynix 456%—while retail interest has also intensified, including a 357% jump in leveraged South Korea ETF KORU and a 1,000%-plus rise in Stocktwits message volume.

Insights

Are your diversified emerging market funds secretly just a massive high-risk bet on three Asian microchip giants?
What happens to global emerging market portfolios if the artificial intelligence infrastructure bubble suddenly bursts?