Asian stocks slide after AI-driven selloff hits US tech; Kospi and Nikkei open lower

what happened

Asian equity markets began Monday in negative territory, following Friday's decline on Wall Street, TradingView reports. Traders are increasingly asking whether the rally in AI-linked shares has gone too far. At the open, the Kospi slipped 1.06%, the Nikkei 225 shed 0.39% and the Topix lost 0.51%, while the MSCI Asia Pacific index was down 0.5%. On Friday the Nasdaq 100 fell 3.5%, its weakest session since June, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunged 7.2%.

Currency moves were modest apart from the yen, which weakened 0.2% to 157.80 per dollar, while the offshore yuan stayed near 6.6528 per dollar. Brent dropped 1.6% to roughly $111.60 a barrel after gaining more than 2% on Friday. The move followed an Axios report that Trump leaned toward more diplomacy before any strikes on Iran, though attacks on vessels near the Strait of Hormuz continued.

why it matters

The selloff reflects doubts that the heavy AI spending by large tech firms pays off when their core advertising, retail and consumer operations show signs of weakening, according to a Bloomberg report cited by TradingView. Chinese authorities may offer support: local media say the central bank, regulators and major banks were set to meet Monday to discuss a relending scheme for share buybacks and stake increases. Crypto also remains in focus after Binance disclosed a $6.3 billion hack last week.

market impact

Tech shares and Asian indices: doubts about returns on AI spending add pressure to equities.

• ▼Nasdaq 100 pressure down — doubts about payback from AI spending and weakening core businesses weigh on tech shares
• ▼Brent pressure down — hopes for diplomacy with Iran reduce the geopolitical risk premium in oil

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