Asian Tech Stocks Retreat as AI Enthusiasm Fades

South Korea’s Kospi tumbled 2.55%, while Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average shed 2.0% as semiconductor companies bore the brunt of the selling pressure. The retreat followed a 6.7% plunge in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index overnight. Samsung Electronics shares dropped 2.8%, and Kioxia Holdings fell 4.6%. The market volatility has already claimed its first casualties in the corporate sector; SK Hynix abandoned plans for a U.S. listing of its Solidigm unit, signaling a broader freeze in multibillion-dollar fundraising efforts for the sector.

While tech stocks faltered, energy markets remained volatile as oil prices climbed. Brent crude rose 0.5% to $113.71 a barrel, fueled by Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabian energy infrastructure and threats of wider strikes across the Persian Gulf. Thadeu Dos Santos of Infinox noted that any successful strike on major export terminals or production facilities threatens to tighten physical supply, keeping the market on edge. Amid the turbulence, the Japanese yen strengthened against the dollar, benefiting from a dip in U.S. Treasury yields, though energy-sensitive currencies like the Indonesian rupiah remained under pressure.