SEOUL, November 05 (AJP) - Asian stocks tumbled across the board on Wednesday, with recent winners in Seoul and Tokyo turning into the day’s biggest losers. South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI closed down 2.85 percent at 4,004.42, barely holding the psychologically important 4,000 level. The index had plunged more than 5 percent in early trading, triggering a sidecar halt.
The selloff followed mounting fears of a potential U.S. market bubble after steep losses in Palantir Technologies and other major AI-linked stocks. Sentiment deteriorated further as the U.S. Supreme Court began hearings on the legality of the Trump administration’s reciprocal tariff structure, unsettling investors in Korea and Japan, both heavily exposed to U.S. trade flows.
Warnings from U.S. asset manager Scion Asset Management on Tuesday that key AI-related stocks were “overheated” reinforced concerns. The caution echoed remarks in recent days from Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon and Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick, which helped spark a sharp correction in U.S. equities.
Foreign investors offloaded a net 2.51 trillion won ($1.72 billion) in Korean shares, driving the downturn, while retail investors bought 2.56 trillion won to absorb the selling. Index bellwethers Samsung Electronics and SK hynix led the slump. Samsung fell 4.1 percent to 100,600 won after briefly dipping to 96,700 won before trimming losses. SK hynix also slid sharply intraday, dropping below 550,000 won before recovering part of the decline to finish 1.19 percent lower at 579,000 won.
Amid the market turmoil, Naver defied the downtrend. The tech giant jumped 4.31 percent to 278,500 won after reporting record third-quarter earnings earlier in the day on the back of expanded AI integration, standing in sharp contrast to the broader AI-driven rout across global markets. The KOSDAQ also slid, losing 2.66 percent to 901.89 after triggering a mid-day sidecar before rebounding above the 900 level.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 2.5 percent to 50,212.27. SoftBank Group plunged 10 percent to 22,640 yen ($147.4), while Hitachi Construction Machinery nosedived 12.17 percent to 4,382 yen after Hitachi Ltd. said it would divest its stake, ending the unit’s subsidiary status.
Elsewhere in Asia, Taiwan’s TAIEX shed 1.42 percent to 27,717.06, pressured by the same U.S.-led “AI bubble” fears.
In contrast, Chinese and Hong Kong stocks held up better than their regional peers. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.23 percent to 3,969.25, while the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index slipped just 0.36 percent to 25,860 as of 4:30 p.m., marking the smallest decline among major Asian markets.
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