Asian stock markets decline as South Korea's Kospi drops 7%
Asian stock markets mostly dropped on Wednesday, led by a 7% plunge in South Korea's Kospi amid tech sector concerns, while Hong Kong gains bucked the trend.
Asian equity markets largely declined on Wednesday, driven by a sharp drop in South Korea where the benchmark Kospi index fell by 7%. Semiconductor heavyweights Samsung and SK Hynix faced significant selling pressure amid growing investor anxiety over a potential slowdown in global artificial intelligence spending.
Elsewhere in the region, Japan's Nikkei 225 index declined 1%, though the broader Topix index managed a slight gain of 0.1%. Markets in mainland China also traded lower, with the Shanghai Composite slipping 0.3% and the Shenzhen index down 0.2%. Bucking the regional trend, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index surged 1.7%.
Sources: Sweden Herald