Asian stocks declined sharply, led by losses in South Korea and Japan as semiconductor stocks suffered a significant downturn following disappointing earnings from key companies like Advanced Micro Devices and Western Digital. The KOSPI index in South Korea dropped over 4%, with major chipmakers like SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics experiencing substantial losses. The Nikkei 225 in Japan also fell, despite some gains from Sony. Overall, the MSCI AC Asia Pacific index decreased by about 0.7%, reversing previous gains. Meanwhile, Hong Kong's market saw declines driven by new taxes on investment income affecting insurers. In contrast, Chinese stocks were more resilient, with minor losses observed in the Shanghai composites.

Asia stocks slide as chip rout hits Korea, Japan

Author Roushni Nair

Stock Markets

Published 08/06/2026, 12:09 AM

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Asia stocks slide as chip rout hits Korea, Japan

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Investing.com -- South Korean and Japanese stocks led declines across Asia on Thursday as renewed weakness in semiconductor shares prompted investors to take profits after the previous session’s AI-fuelled rally.

Overnight, the Nasdaq snapped a multi-day winning streak after disappointing post-earnings reactions in AI-related stocks. Advanced Micro Devices slid after its outlook failed to impress investors despite beating quarterly estimates, while SpaceX fell after its first earnings report as a public company highlighted elevated AI-related capital spending.

Sentiment improved modestly in Asia, withNasdaq 100 Futures little changed, while S&P 500 Futures rose 0.2%. The broader MSCI AC Asia Pacific x JP index fell about 0.7%, reversing part of Wednesday’s 1.5% rally.

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Chipmakers lead regional selloff; Hong Kong insurers slump

Technology stocks reversed part of Wednesday’s rally as investors reassessed AI valuations after a strong rebound over recent sessions.

The pullback came as traders reassessed semiconductor valuations following sharp overnight declines in U.S. memory-chip makers Sandisk and Western Digital, extending volatility that has dominated AI-related shares in recent weeks.

South Korea’s KOSPI tumbled more than 4%, marking the region’s weakest performance. SK Hynix plunged over 8%, Samsung Electronics lost more than 5%, while LG Innotek fell about 6% after U.S. memory-chip makers Sandisk and Western Digital dropped sharply overnight following their earnings reports.

Japan’sNikkei 225 fell about 1.2%, while the broader TOPIX lost 0.4%. Kioxia Holdings slumped nearly 9%, Murata Manufacturing dropped more than 8%, TDK fell about 5%, while Sony bucked the trend with a gain of almost 2%.

AXJO+0.47%JP225-0.89%HK50-1.49%PRU+1.32%STAN+0.32%WDC-5.36%AMD-7.04%LCO+0.09%ESU26+0.2%NQU26-0.35%IXIC-0.83%NSEI+0.05%1299-5.92%KS11-4.58%STI+1.03%SSEC+0.57%TOPX+0.24%000660-10.37%005930-6.3%011070-7.82%6758+1.71%6762-4.35%9984-4.41%CSI300-0.15%MIPFJIN00PUS-2.17%6981-5.21%285A-10.24%HSBH-1.5%1828-5.59%SPCX-13.61%

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Chinese markets were comparatively resilient. The Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 fell about 0.5%, while the Shanghai Composite slipped only 0.1%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell nearly 2%, with insurers leading declines after reports that Chinese authorities have begun enforcing taxes on investment income from offshore insurance policies.

AIA Group fell more than 8%, Prudential lost nearly 6%, FWD Group dropped about 6%, while HSBC fell more than 2% and Standard Chartered slipped about 1%.

ASX cools after record as focus shifts to payrolls

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped after scaling a record high above 9,200 in the previous session. Investors also digested stronger-than-expected June trade data as miners gave back some of Wednesday’s gains through profit-taking.

In India, the Reserve Bank of India left its benchmark repo rate unchanged at 5.25% on Wednesday, as expected. Nifty 50 was little changed at open on Thursday.

Singapore’s FTSE Straits Times Singapore edged about 0.2% lower, tracking the softer regional tone despite continued resilience in bank stocks.

Meanwhile, oil prices traded in a tight range as markets continued to assess reports that Washington and Tehran are edging closer to an interim agreement over the Strait of Hormuz.

Brent crude hovered near $79 a barrel, helping keep inflation expectations and Treasury yields contained. Fed funds futures now imply roughly a 54% chance of a September rate hike following weaker-than-expected ADP employment data, down from about 58% a day earlier.

Investors now await earnings from SoftBank Group Corp. (TYO:9984) later on Thursday, while Friday’s U.S. nonfarm payrolls report is expected to provide the next major test for interest-rate expectations and sentiment toward technology stocks.

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Asia stocks slide as chip rout hits Korea, Japan

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ari tanri 4 hours ago

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NVDA	219.22	+3.43%	158.19M
MU	893.19	+0.06%	34.72M
AMD	482.05	-7.04%	49.62M
SPCX	108.27	-13.61%	208.49M
SNDK	1,350.50	-5.40%	16.37M
GOOGL	362.43	-4.03%	46.93M
MSFT	487.46	-1.09%	33.39M

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SHOP	144.24	+16.98%	41.54M
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SNDK	1,350.50	-5.40%	16.37M
SPCX	108.27	-13.61%	208.49M
NVDA	219.22	+3.43%	158.19M
AMD	482.05	-7.04%	49.62M
MU	893.19	+0.06%	34.72M

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