Asian markets slumped on Tuesday as a fresh bout of jitters around Nvidia and other artificial-intelligence heavyweights dragged global stocks lower.
Nvidia — the chip powerhouse at the heart of the AI boom — is set to unveil its earnings on Wednesday, and investors are increasingly nervous that valuations across the sector have climbed too far, too fast. Those worries have sparked sharp swings in markets that depend heavily on semiconductor exports, including South Korea and Taiwan.
Adding to the unease is Thursday’s long-delayed release of US employment data, postponed by the extended government shutdown, which has left traders flying partially blind.
Regional sentiment also cooled after Japan’s 30-year government bond yield jumped to 3.31pc — a sign of rising risk as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi prepares to ramp up spending and delay plans to rein in the country’s vast public debt.
Tokyo led the sell-off. The Nikkei 225 tumbled 3pc to 48,835.20 by midday, hammered by a wave of selling in tech shares. Chipmaker Tokyo Electron dropped 5.4pc, while equipment maker Advantest fell 4.6pc.
The downturn rippled across Asia.
• South Korea: The Kospi slid 3.1pc to 3,960.82, with Samsung Electronics down 2.9pc and chip rival SK Hynix tumbling 5.7pc.
• Taiwan: The Taiex lost 2.3pc as TSMC — the world’s leading contract chipmaker — slipped 2.4pc.
• China: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 1.5pc to 25,997.20, while the Shanghai Composite dipped 0.6pc to 3,949.83.
• Australia: The S&P/ASX 200 retreated 2.1pc to 8,452.50.
The weakness followed a downbeat session on Wall Street. On Monday, the S&P 500 fell 0.9pc to 6,672.41, pulling further away from last month’s record high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.2pc to 46,590.24, while the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.8pc to 22,708.07.
Even tech’s biggest winners weren’t spared. Nvidia, despite being up nearly 40pc this year, dropped 1.8pc. Other AI-linked stars were hit even harder, including Super Micro Computer, which sank 6.4pc.
