Asian chipmakers lead emerging-market stocks rally on tech demand

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index is up 22% year-to-date, which sounds like a broad-based comeback story for developing economies. It’s not. Strip out three Asian chipmakers and the picture looks very different. TSMC, Samsung Electronics, and SK Hynix have collectively contributed roughly 14 percentage points of that 22% advance through late June. Three companies, representing just over a quarter of the index’s weight, are responsible for about half of its expected earnings growth in 2026. The numbers behind the chip surge TSMC shares have climbed 53% year-to-date. Samsung has surged 150%. SK Hynix has rocketed 200%. Both Samsung and SK Hynix have crossed the $1 trillion market capitalization threshold. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index hit record highs in late April as the chipmaker rally intensified. South Korea’s KOSPI index rose more than 75% in 2025 and nearly 97% in dollar terms. January 2026 alone delivered a 24% gain for the KOSPI, driven almost entirely by semiconductor and AI exposure. AI demand is the engine TSMC manufactures the most advanced logic chips on the planet, producing silicon for Nvidia, AMD, and a growing roster of hyperscalers designing their own custom process...