Asian Markets Slide as Chip Stocks Drop Despite Wall Street Recovery
Asian stock markets fell, led by a 4% drop in Seoul's Kospi and steep losses in chip makers like Samsung Electronics, despite a technology rebound on Wall Street.
Asian stock markets traded lower, led by sharp declines in South Korea, despite a tech-driven recovery on Wall Street. The Kospi index in Seoul dropped 4%, while Tokyo's Nikkei 212 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng both lost 1.1%, and Shanghai's composite index retreated 0.1%.
Semiconductor stocks saw significant losses as concerns persisted over the sustainability of high capital expenditures in artificial intelligence. In South Korea, memory chip maker SK Hynix fell 4.8%, and Samsung Electronics lost 3.5%. In Japan, technology investment giant SoftBank dropped 5.8%.
Meanwhile, China kept its benchmark lending rates unchanged for the 17th consecutive month, meeting market forecasts. The one-year loan prime rate remained at 3% and the five-year rate at 3.5%, following third-quarter GDP growth of 4.5% that reduced immediate pressure for further monetary stimulus.
