* Asia Pacific IT index posts biggest loss since December

* US tech stocks slumped Friday on reports on iPhone, valuations

* Asia tech stocks remain cheaper than US ones

By Nichola Saminather

SINGAPORE, June 12 (Reuters) - Asian technology stocks were clobbered on Monday, following a slide in their U.S. peers, as caution and profit taking caught up to a sector that had shot to record highs on strong global demand for electronic devices and gadgets.

In its biggest one-day slide since December, the MSCI Asia Pacific Information Technology index fell 1.5 percent, after hitting a 17-year high on Friday.

That pulled down the MSCI Asia Pacific index by 0.4 percent.

But with Asian tech valuations cheap relative to U.S. ones, investors and analysts in the region largely dismiss the possibility that Monday's pullback will turn into a longer-term rout.

Chinese internet firm JD.com, Chinese mobile social networking company Momo Inc., Korean internet service firm Naver Corp. and tech equipment maker LG Innotek slumped between 5.5 and 6.5 percent.

For a graphic on Asian tech share trends, click http://reut.rs/2rQV3il

U.S. tech stocks fell sharply on Friday as concerns about Apple's new iPhones and a cautious Goldman Sachs report on the sector prompted investors to book profits and rotate into less expensive counters.

The S&P 500 information technology index shed 2.7 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq slumped as much as 2.9 percent before closing down 1.8 percent.

Apple Inc., Alphabet, and Amazon three of the five biggest companies on the Nasdaq, closed down more than 3 percent each, with Apple suffering its biggest one-day loss in 14 months.

"The mini-tech crash last week appeared to be rotation into laggards, e.g. financials, and therefore one should not necessarily believe this is the beginning of a long rout," said Sat Duhra, an Asian fund manager at Henderson Global Investors.

"However that's not to say it's undeserved – too many tech stocks have re-rated without producing the goods – they are driven by sentiment rather than exceptional earning beats and this kind of move... is not sustainable."

A Bloomberg News report that iPhones to be launched later this year will use modem chips with slower download speeds than some rival smartphones knocked Apple's shares, which had surged over 50 percent over the past year on high hopes for the iPhone8.

In Asia, Apple suppliers Hon Hai Precision Industry and LG Display dropped as much as 2.9 percent and 5.5 percent, respectively, on Monday.

SINKING IN THEIR FANGS

"The tech sector cannot lead markets forever and with many of these tech stocks at or near 52-week highs, we see this as a bit of profit taking for now, but will closely monitor the situation this week," said Chris Brankin, chief executive officer at TD Ameritrade Asia in Singapore.