Asian stock markets tumbled on Friday as a global technology selloff intensified.
With South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI plunging more than 8% and triggering a circuit breaker, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 slid nearly 5% amid growing concerns that the artificial intelligence-driven rally had become overstretched.
South Korea bore the brunt of the selloff, with the KOSPI dropping 8.2%, prompting authorities to suspend programme trading for 20 minutes after heavy losses swept across the market.
Elsewhere, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 5%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 2.4%, China’s CSI300 declined 2.9% and the Shanghai Composite slipped more than 2%. The broader MSCI Asia-Pacific Index excluding Japan dropped 3.8%, putting it on course for its steepest weekly decline in more than a year.
The sharp downturn mirrored overnight losses on Wall Street, where Apple shed nearly $250 billion in market value after announcing price increases for iPads and MacBooks to offset rising memory and storage chip costs. The stock fell 6.1%, fuelling concerns that surging AI infrastructure and semiconductor costs are beginning to pressure even the world’s largest technology companies.
The reversal came just a day after Micron Technology’s strong quarterly earnings had reinforced optimism about AI-driven demand and lifted chip stocks to fresh highs.
“Apple’s decision to raise prices suggests that even the biggest technology companies may eventually feel the impact of higher component costs,” Saxo Chief Investment Strategist Charu Chanana told Reuters.
“Higher input costs, rising capital expenditure and growing funding requirements are making investors more selective about AI-related investments,” she added.
Technology shares led Friday’s declines across Asia. China’s CSI Artificial Intelligence Index fell 5%, while the CSI 5G Communication Index dropped 6.3%. Optical module manufacturer Zhongji Innolight, a major supplier to AI infrastructure companies, lost nearly 6%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Tech Index declined 3.3%, leaving it on track for its weakest weekly performance since October 2025.
Analysts said part of the selloff also reflected quarter-end profit booking after one of the strongest rallies in recent years. Despite Friday’s decline, South Korea’s KOSPI remains up about 62% for the quarter, while Japan’s Nikkei has gained roughly 34%. The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index is still higher by more than 20% over the same period.
Investor sentiment was further dampened by weakness in US equity futures. Nasdaq futures fell 1.7% during Asian trading following reports that OpenAI may postpone its long-anticipated public listing until next year, adding to concerns about lofty valuations across the AI sector.
Meanwhile, oil prices continued to soften, with Brent crude slipping below $74 a barrel after Saudi Aramco resumed exports from its Ras Tanura terminal following months of disruption. Lower energy prices, however, did little to improve broader market sentiment.
Investors also monitored Japan’s currency market closely as the yen hovered near a four-decade low against the US dollar, reviving speculation of possible intervention by Japanese authorities.
Market participants said the sharp correction does not necessarily mark the end of the AI investment boom but reflects mounting concerns over stretched valuations after months of relentless gains. With technology stocks driving much of this year’s global market rally, investors have become increasingly sensitive to any signs of pressure on earnings, margins or spending.
For now, a combination of elevated valuations, rising chip costs, quarter-end profit-taking and uncertainty over future earnings has turned one of 2026’s strongest investment themes into a broad-based market correction.
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