Asia slides to a three-month low as AI worries return and chip stocks fall
Korean and Japanese indexes dropped, and China's CSI 300 approached a bear market.
Asian stocks fell Thursday to their lowest level in nearly three months as mixed U.S. technology earnings revived doubts about whether heavy artificial intelligence spending will pay off. The broad MSCI index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell about 1.8%, headed for a fourth straight weekly decline. South Korean shares tumbled about 4%, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell about 2%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost more than 3%.
Chip stocks led the drop: SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics fell roughly 4% to 6%, and other chip shares across the region also declined. China's CSI 300 fell about 2%, leaving it close to a 20% decline from its June peak, the edge of a technical bear market, as Alibaba tumbled more than 5% in Hong Kong.
South Korea's central bank held its benchmark interest rate at 3.00% after two consecutive increases. The losses erased Wednesday's rebound in Seoul; see our earlier story on the Kospi bounce. U.S. stock futures also fell during Asian trading hours.
