South Korea led regional losses with a sharp drop in technology shares, while Japan, China, and Southeast Asian markets also closed lower.
Major Asian stock markets suffered sharp losses on Tuesday, with Seoul’s Kospi falling more than 10%, as technology shares and investor concerns grew following uncertainty on Wall Street.
The biggest drop came from Seoul Stock Exchange’s main index, the Kospi, which ended the session down 10.84%, while in Japan, the Nikkei also recorded a steep decline, falling nearly 4%.
Selling pressure extended across China and Southeast Asian markets, while Indian equities showed mixed performance.
The day of widespread losses followed a mixed close on Wall Street the prior day, where Nasdaq fell 0.18%. Investors remain cautious as several major technology companies prepare to release their quarterly earnings, amid growing questions about the sustainability of the artificial intelligence (AI) rally.
South Korea Leads regional declines
South Korea’s technology-heavy Kospi, fell from 732.09 points to 6,023.66 while the Kodak index, which tracks technology and mid-cap companies, fell 59.01 points, to 705.85 (7.72%).
At the beginning of the trading session, the South Korean stock exchange operator, Korea Exchange (KRX), triggered a five-minute “sidecar” trading halt on KOSPI futures after KOSPI 200 futures, a temporary volatility control mechanism that involves temporarily suspending scheduled sales, fell more than 5% in one minute.
Semiconductor Samsung Electronics, a chipmaker and local benchmark stock, fell 13.39%, while its rival SK hynix declined 14.65%. SK Square, the technology investment firm, fell to 15.6%, and Hanmi Semiconductor, which develops chip-making equipment, lost 12.22%.
The sell-off also affected the automotive sector, where shares of Hyundai Motors share fell 9.68% while, Kia (Hyundai’s sister company) dropped 6.6%. In the defense sector, Hanwha Aerospace fell 2.67%, while Korea Aerospace Industries declined 2.19%.
Technology Stocks Pressure Tokyo Markets
Meanwhile, the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s main index, Nikkei, fell 3.95%. The index, which tracks the 225 most representative stocks on the Japanese market, lost 2,566.27 points, closing at 62,364.92.
The broader Topix index, which includes companies in the main section—those with the largest market capitalization—fell 2.52%, or 102.48 points, to 3,963.59.
Semiconductor-related companies were among those faced with the biggest losses. Memory chip manufacturer Kioxia plunged 18.33% and hit the lower end of its price range. Advantest, which manufactures semiconductor production equipment, fell 10.11%, and Tokyo Electron dropped 10.96%.
China Joins Regional Sell-Off
The downward trend also affected Chinese markets. The Shanghai Stock Exchange’s benchmark index declined 1.16% today, loosing 44.93 points to finish at 3,813.31.
Meanwhile, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange recorded a sharper drop, falling 639.05 points, or 4.52%, to close at 13,509.68.
Southeast Asia Sees Smaller Declines
Markets across Southeast Asia recorded more moderate declines compared with other parts of Asia.
Indonesia, the region’s largest economy led the losses with a 0.36%, following the resignation of its central bank governor the previous day. Singapore and the Philippines, each fell 0.17%; and Malaysia, down 0.05%.
Vietnam’s benchmark VN index, the VN on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, bucked the trend, gaining 0.48%; meanwhile, the Thai stock market remained closed for a local holiday.
India, Shows Mixed Performance
Indian stock markets posted mixed results in the early hours of trading, with the main indices, as Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex and the National Stock Exchange’s Nifty 50, both gained 0.04%.
The information technology sector led gains, with shares of multinational technology company services such as Tata Consultancy Services rising more than 4% on both exchange.
However, sectors such as finance and real estate faced declines weighing on broader market performance.
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