[DigitalToday intern reporter Seungah Yoo] SoftBank Group fell more than 12 percent on June 26, leading a broader drop in Asian technology stocks.

On June 26 (local time), CNBC reported that worries have grown that higher AI infrastructure costs could pressure corporate profitability after Apple raised component prices. The fallout from the Nasdaq Composite's fourth straight session of declines also spread to Asian markets.

The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.46 percent the previous day. Micron posted results that beat market expectations, but Apple slid 6 percent to lead the decline.

SoftBank Group widened its losses as weakness in its semiconductor design unit Arm Holdings added to the pressure. Arm Holdings fell 3.2 percent in U.S. trading. Even as AI-related stocks broadly rebounded, Arm Holdings lagged the semiconductor sector average.

Andrew Jackson (앤드루 잭슨), an equity strategist at Ortus Advisors, assessed that expectations tied to OpenAI could limit further gains in SoftBank Group's share price. He said reports had an impact that OpenAI could delay an initial public offering to next year as it struggles to secure demand in a fundraising process aimed at a $1 trillion valuation.

Qualcomm's deal to supply AI data centre chips to Meta could be positive for Arm Holdings in terms of royalty income. But Qualcomm's aggressive expansion into the central processing unit market is also increasing competitive pressure on Arm Holdings.

Asian semiconductor stocks also weakened across the board. SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics fell nearly 5 percent. SK Square slid about 7 percent, while LG Electronics and Seoul Semiconductor also fell.

In Japan, Advantest fell more than 6 percent and Tokyo Electron slid more than 2 percent.

In the United States, Apple announced price increases for MacBook and iPad, citing rising prices for chips and other components, and this was cited as a factor behind the earlier drop. Worries also grew that a sharp rise in semiconductor prices could squeeze profitability at major technology companies. Microsoft fell 3.5 percent after a price increase for Xbox consoles, and Alphabet and Meta also weakened.