After Apple raised product prices, Asian tech stocks generally fell on Friday.

Investors are concerned that the continued rise in component costs will suppress end-device demand and eventually drag down the memory chip market, which has been supporting the AI investment boom. The market is reassessing whether the surging memory prices, driven by persistent AI demand, might start to curb overall spending by increasing costs for electronics manufacturers and consumers. Apple’s recent price hike is one of the clearest signals yet that the industry’s pricing power may come at the expense of future demand, prompting a re-evaluation of AI-related semiconductor stock valuations. “The market is no longer viewing the increase in memory prices as an unequivocal positive for the entire AI trade,” said Charu Chanana, Chief Investment Strategist at Saxo Bank. “This does confirm that AI infrastructure demand remains robust, but it also raises the cost of building and using AI. The risk is that the current strong memory chip cycle may slow down the broader AI trade in the future, and the market has started to price this in.”