Seagate Technology Holdings PLC – Finance News Today

Southeast Asia’ AI boom goes beyond subscriptions

Finance News — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 02:06:16 +0000

Southeast Asia is embracing artificial intelligence at a rapid pace. But the business of making money from AI is about more than getting consumers to pay for it.

Generative AI adoption in the region has reached around 243 million people in less than three years, according to the annual e-Conomy SEA report released Wednesday by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company.

That is equivalent to 58% of the working population, with adoption occurring four times faster than the uptake of mobile internet. Yet only 1% to 2% of the region’s population pays for personal AI subscriptions, highlighting a gap between widespread adoption and direct consumer spending.

Florian Hoppe, a partner at Bain & Company, told CNBC in an interview that businesses have found other ways to generate AI’s commercial value from online shopping to digital advertising.

Companies have been using AI to improve e-commerce conversion rates and handle routine customer inquiries, allowing employees to focus on other tasks, he added.

Consumers may also be paying indirectly for AI when purchasing products developed using the technology.

The findings come as Southeast Asia’s digital economy is projected to grow 17% to $368 billion in gross merchandise value this year, with the market expected to exceed $1 trillion by 2035, according to the report.

Hoppe also pointed to another factor driving the region’s enthusiasm for AI: its willingness to embrace new technologies as consumers have shown what he described as “pragmatic optimism” toward AI, embracing the technology for its practical benefits.

The region has historically ranked among the most active users of major digital platforms on a per-capita basis.

“They’re very experimental,” Hoppe said, describing consumers’ openness to new tools and services. He also added that in terms of individual markets, Singapore is among Southeast Asia’s early leaders in AI adoption.

That openness is extending to more autonomous uses of AI, with 75% of users willing to let AI agents find the best prices and complete purchases on their behalf. The report shows that confidence is also growing, with 62% of respondents saying they trust AI tools more than they did a year ago.

Despite the rapid adoption, people in Southeast Asia still use AI far less than those in the U.S., with usage per person at just 10% of U.S. levels.

For businesses, however, the potential returns are becoming more tangible. About 69% of shoppers use AI to compare complex purchases such as electronics, while early case studies show AI helping businesses boost conversion rates by 10% year on year and increase the average amount customers spend per order by as much as 75%.

An example is Shopee, a Southeast Asian e-commerce platform, which now handles approximately 80% of customer queries through AI chatbots, helping cut its cost per customer contact by 30% year on year.

In online media, Hoppe pointed to a “significant uplift” in advertising click-through rates and conversions through AI-powered…

AI stocks plunge. Inflation heats up. Where we’re still finding

Finance News — Sun, 18 Oct 2026 02:11:15 +0000

Micron, SK Hynix, Samsung Electronics, ASML shares: tech stocks fall

Finance News — Tue, 13 Oct 2026 13:42:14 +0000

Samuel Boivin | Nurphoto | Getty Images

Technology stocks fell Tuesday, extending a sell-off sparked by worries over artificial intelligence financing and intensifying competition.

Memory chip giant Micron was down around 5% in U.S. premarket trading.

Other memory-related stocks such as SanDisk, Seagate and Western Digital were all sharply lower. SanDisk fell 5% while Seagate and Western Digital both dropped 7%.

The slide, which follows declines on Wall Street on Monday, comes as investors assessed intensifying competition from China’s ChangXin Memory Technologies, or CXMT.

Micron shares year-to-date.

Over the weekend, CXMT announced significant progress in developing a new chip architecture, designed to increase memory density by packing more data into a smaller space.

CXMT is China’s leading rival to the likes of Micron and South Korean heavyweights SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics. Analysts broadly see CXMT as trailing the U.S. and South Korean memory leaders, which means any advancement from the Chinese firm could add more competition to the market leaders.

“Investors are jittery and looking for excuses to take profit on AI-related stocks that have outperformed this year, especially memory stocks,” said UBP’s senior equity advisor Vey-Sern Ling.

“In reality, while the Chinese memory makers can potentially become a threat to global demand-supply balance over time, in the short run they continue to face technology hurdles, especially for more advanced memory like HBM,” Ling told CNBC via email.

CXMT shares closed 2.8% lower in Shanghai.

Global tech stocks slump

Adding fuel to the sell-off was a post by Tesla and SpaceX boss Elon Musk, who said China has the ability to scale production once it figures out how to manufacture something.

“When China figures out how to manufacture a product, their ability to scale is often greater than the rest of the world combined,” Musk said on Monday.

European chip stocks also sank in early morning trade, with semiconductor equipment maker ASML down 3.3%, and STMicroelectronics and German chip maker Infineon both down 5%. Dutch firms BE Semiconductor and ASM International were both around 4% lower at the open.

Shares of South Korean chip giant SK Hynix, a leading supplier of high-bandwidth memory chips used in artificial intelligence applications, plunged more than 10%, while rival Samsung Electronics shed 7.4% — both hitting their lowest levels since August. SK Hynix’s U.S.-listed stock was down around 5% in premarket trading.

In Japan, shares of tech-focused investment giant SoftBank Group sank 8.5%. The group, which has significant exposure to the global AI industry through its huge investment in OpenAI, led a broader retreat in Japanese semiconductor and electronics shares.

Tokyo Electron, a major supplier of chipmaking equipment, dropped 7.2%, while Advantest, which makes semiconductor testing equipment, declined 2.9%. Other Japanese technology stocks also came under pressure.

From Nvidia earnings to trade war tape bombs, a simple strategy could be

Finance News — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 16:31:45 +0000

There’s a popular expression on Wall Street: KISS, which stands for, Keep It Simple, Stupid. Amid a torrent of complicated cross currents, it might present the best approach to trading this week’s news.

More catalysts mean more potential for big moves, and if options are cheap they may present the better way to make a directional bet. At the moment, SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) call options look like a better way to be long in this market.

Here’s why:

Let’s start with Treasuries. The 30-year rate is at the highest level in 20 years. This was enough for Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to try to manipulate the long end of the curve with the “Treasury twist,” buying back longer maturity debt financed with shorter-term debt. That worked for about a day. The 10-year (the rate he looks at most) dipped to roughly 4.64%, then climbed right back, finishing the week at 4.73%. This is the highest of the post-GFC era. Rising discount rates are not just a headache for government finances; they’re a headwind for every long-duration asset. Of course, that cuts both ways. I believe more concrete yield curve manipulation could occur via the Federal Reserve if 10-year yields approach 6%, but others seemingly believe rates won’t get that high. Look at the holders of IEF, for example, the 7-10 year Treasury ETF. Fisher Investments owns nearly 161 million shares, about $15 billion worth. If you share the view that it’s a good idea to own a little duration in your fixed income allocation you may also believe the S&P highs will be reached between now and year-end.

Another potential catalyst?

Nvidia reports Wednesday. It is very hard for this market to do well if Nvidia’s results disappoint; the index’s performance has been carried by AI infrastructure spending, and Nvidia is both its biggest beneficiary, its bellwether, and the largest single constituent. A modest guidance stumble would ripple through semis, hyperscalers, power, and everything else the trade touches, but even if it didn’t, the stock moves markets by itself. Over the past four quarterly earnings releases Nvidia has fallen an average of ~6%, based on its current weight in the S&P and the Nasdaq that translates to a down move of nearly .5% in those two indices. However, after a year’s worth of ho-hum post-earnings price action, this could be the one that reignites the fire. Nvidia is trading at a well below market multiple.

Now we’re also continuing to contend with trade/tariff policy. Talks with Canada have broken down again, with Mark Carney deciding retaliation is set for September 8. According to an article published by Bloomberg, the PM “see[s] little chance of resuming talks with President Trump before the midterm elections.” While we keep falling into traps of our own making, and of course, if Carney is presented with a deal he doesn’t like, the looming midterms provide an obvious pressure point. It’s worth noting that President Trump has also clotheslined shorts based on trade and tariffs. A…

What’s bogging down the data center trade has nothing to do with demand

Finance News — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 00:14:47 +0000

Rising yields rattled the market, but we’re sticking with our favorite AI

Finance News — Sun, 23 Aug 2026 01:13:28 +0000

hedge funds had historic underperformance vs S&P 500 in July

Finance News — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 06:09:18 +0000

African American businessman showing infographic to his invisible colleague also holding infographic, on a board meeting at conference table.

Vm | E+ | Getty Images

Hedge funds struggled to a historic extent as AI momentum unwound in July, according to Goldman Sachs.

“Our Hedge Fund VIP list of the most popular long positions suffered its worst 1-month underperformance vs. the S&P 500 in more than 20 years of history, and July marked one of the sharpest hedge fund de-grossing episodes of the past decade,” Goldman strategists led by Ben Snider said. “Funds trimmed positions in a number of AI stocks, including many semiconductors and most of the mega-caps,” it added.

Hedge funds have begun to diversify from artificial intelligence, even after they entered last quarter “all in on AI” with portfolio turnover at the highest since 2021, according to Goldman Sachs.

“Hedge fund performance, leverage, and the most popular long positions have swung sharply with the AI trade during the last few months,” Goldman said.

Hedge funds delivered strong gains in the second quarter as the market was being fueled by popular AI stocks, which helped hedge fund crowding climbed to a record, Goldman said. Last quarter, tech accounted for 14 of the 20 so-called Rising Stars with the largest increases in hedge fund popularity, it noted.

That said, while hedge fund gross leverage, net leverage, and AI exposure have each declined from their Q2 highs, they still rank above longer-term averages, according to Goldman.

“Despite the volatility, US equity long/short hedge funds have returned 10% through mid-August.”

Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.

SK Hynix, Samsung Electronics, SoftBank

Finance News — Wed, 29 Jul 2026 04:29:00 +0000

A semiconductor wafer is on display at Touch Taiwan, an annual display exhibition in Taipei, Taiwan April 16, 2025.

Ann Wang | Reuters

Asian technology stocks extended their sell-off on Wednesday, with semiconductor names leading declines after another weak session in the U.S.

In South Korea, SK Hynix slid more than 15% after the chip giant missed analysts’ estimates despite posting record quarterly profit and revenue. Samsung Electronics lost over 8%, while LG Innotek fell 15% and Seoul Semiconductor dropped 10%.

The latest weakness in Asian chip stocks reflects “the ongoing deleveraging process in Korea and softer sentiment towards global technology stocks,” said Kieron Poon, investment director of Asian equities at Aberdeen Investments, in a Tuesday note. However, he added that the recent volatility “has not changed our long-term positive view.”

Japanese chip names also declined. Japan’s computer memory manufacturer Kioxia was down 14%. Tokyo Electron fell 12.6%, while SoftBank Group, a major AI investment proxy through its stake in Arm, lost nearly 10%.

Taiwan’s TSMC, the world’s largest contract chip manufacturer, was 3.9% lower.

Mainland China’s tech-heavy ChiNext 300 index lost 0.63%, while the Hang Seng China Semiconductor Chips Index fell more than 6%.

The declines in Asia came on the heels of another weak session for U.S. semiconductor stocks overnight.

Nvidia sank at the open but closed the session flat. Intel dropped nearly 6% and AMD lost 8%. Memory space names Micron and Seagate lost more than 8%, Western Digital sank nearly 7% and Sandisk shed 14%. SK Hynix U.S. shares dropped 9%.

Despite the sharp pullback, Aberdeen sees the sell-off as an opportunity rather than a deterioration in fundamentals. “The recent market pullback has brought valuations to more attractive levels, creating opportunities for us to add exposure to high quality businesses at more reasonable prices,” Poon said.

The recent pullback in AI-related chip stocks reflects investors “giving back a little bit of the froth that was in the AI market,” David Riedel, founder and president of Riedel Research Group, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” on Wednesday.

While concerns over AI financing and rising Chinese competition have weighed on sentiment, “the market is healthy,” he said, adding that memory chipmakers “will be fine” but “just have to give back some of those sudden gains.”

Chinese internet stocks listed in Hong Kong bucked the broader regional weakness with Tencent and Meituan up 4% and 2.49%, respectively. Alibaba, Baidu and Kuaishou all traded higher.

Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.

Micron says the AI party is far from over, but not all are celebrating

Finance News — Sat, 27 Jun 2026 18:46:15 +0000

‘Biggest bottleneck in the AI buildup’ fuels DRAM ETF to record

Finance News — Fri, 15 May 2026 18:17:45 +0000

The Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM) just hit $9.8 billion in assets under management in 43 days— the fastest pace ever for an exchange-traded fund, according to TMX VettaFi.

Ahead of Thursday’s milestone, the CEO of Roundhill Investments told CNBC’s “ETF Edge” the rapid growth is tied to the limited number of companies involved in producing high-bandwidth memory or DRAM chips. They’re considered integral to the artificial intelligence revolution.

“Investors are waking up to the fact that the biggest bottleneck in the AI build-out is actually memory chips,” Dave Mazza said Monday. “There’s an incredible amount of supply and demand imbalance with memory which is one of the reasons why the stocks have been performing so well.”

Mazza notes just a small number of companies are involved in making high-bandwidth memory chips.

“This is an area where memory has historically been incredibly cyclical. We’ve seen boom-and-bust cycles. And, one of the reasons why it was so cyclical is memory is actually found everywhere — in your smart TV to your phone in your car,” he said. “What’s changed is actually data centers and the growth and build-out of AI.”

Mazza estimates the supply and demand imbalance could extend into 2028 due to AI demand and the data center hyperscaler build-out.

‘I’m shocked’

In a special note to CNBC, TMX VettaFi’s Todd Rosenbluth reacted to the DRAM’s popularity, which is considered the hottest ETF since bitcoin mania.

“I’m shocked by the rapid adoption of the ETF, as memory stock demand through an ETF was not pent up like it was for bitcoin exposure,” the firm’s head of research and editorial wrote on Thursday. “Thematic ETFs continue to gain traction by offering exposure to fast-growing companies.”

Citi Research’s Drew Pettit is confident that the strong run will continue.

“The price momentum has earnings momentum backing. So, this is the place where we have seen the best earnings revisions this year in the United States and globally,” the firm’s research director of U.S. equity and ETF strategy told “ETF Edge” in the same interview Monday with Mazza. “If we’re up 300%, but your earnings expectations are up six-to-eightfold for the next few years, it still comes back reasonably priced to us.”DRAM is under pressure during Friday’s trading. But it’s up more than 80% since its inception.

DRAM is under pressure during Friday’s trading. But it’s up more than 80% since its inception.

Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.