Technology stocks came under heavy pressure as investors grew increasingly uneasy about the impact of artificial intelligence on earnings and the outlook for demand across the microchip sector.
The latest bout of volatility in high-valued tech shares hit Asian markets hard, with South Korea’s Kospi sliding nearly 4% and US equity futures also pointing lower. Oil prices weakened too, falling more than $1 a barrel.
Bitcoin also remained under strain, trading near $71,000, down around 7% after briefly crashing to roughly $69,000 earlier in the session — its lowest level since November 2024.
In regional markets, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.9% to 53,818.04, while South Korea’s Kospi tumbled 3.9% to 5,163.57. Shares in Samsung dropped 5.9%, and chipmaker SK Hynix plunged 6.7%.
Chinese equities were also weaker. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dipped 0.3% to 26,761.00, while the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.6% to 4,079.68.
Elsewhere, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.4% to 8,889.20, and Taiwan’s Taiex lost 1.5%.
Overnight on Wall Street, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 1.5% and the S&P 500 shed 0.5%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average managed to rise 0.5%, supported by more defensive sectors.
