SEOUL, November 07 (AJP) - Asian stocks tumbled on Friday as a sharp overnight correction in U.S. technology shares reignited concerns about a potential “AI bubble,” sending investors toward safe-haven assets and pushing the Korean won to its weakest level in months.
The won briefly touched 1,458.0 per U.S. dollar during intraday trading, pressured by simultaneous foreign selling, lingering uncertainties surrounding U.S. tariff negotiations, and a broad pullback from risk assets after the renewed tech rout on Wall Street. The dollar eased slightly to 1,457.35 won as of 4:40 p.m., up 9.65 won from the previous session, whereas it lost 0.24 yen to 153.50 yen.
The Nasdaq slump was led by Tesla and Nvidia, both key customers for South Korean suppliers.
Additional pressure came from renewed scrutiny of OpenAI’s financial structure, which revived questions about overheated AI valuations, while U.S. labor concerns resurfaced after data indicated 150,000 layoffs in October, clouding the broader economic outlook.
Sentiment further weakened on reports that at least six of the nine U.S. Supreme Court justices expressed skepticism over the legality of the Trump administration’s reciprocal tariffs, dimming prospects for timely policy clarity and complicating expectations for near-term Federal Reserve rate cuts.
South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI fell 1.81 percent to 3,953.76, slipping below the 4,000 threshold for the first time in weeks.
Foreign investors sold a net 433.3 billion won ($297 million), and institutions offloaded 220 billion won, while retail investors stepped in to buy 651.3 billion won on bargain hunting.
Semiconductor bellwethers retreated in tandem, with Samsung Electronics down 1.31 percent to 97,900 won and SK hynix sliding 2.19 percent to 580,000 won.
EV-linked stocks tracked Tesla’s decline, with Samsung SDI tumbling 4.97 percent to 306,000 won and LG Energy Solution dropping 1.38 percent to 463,500 won.
Some stocks managed to resist the broader weakness.
Kakao rose 3.46 percent to 62,800 won after reporting record-high third-quarter earnings driven by advertising, platform services and music-related content revenue.
Innotech, a manufacturer of reliability and environmental test equipment and a key supplier to Samsung Display and Samsung Electronics, delivered a standout KOSDAQ debut. The stock surged 300 percent from its offering price of 14,700 won to close at 58,800 won, one of the session’s few bright spots.
Across the region, Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 1.21 percent to 50,270 as technology and AI-related names weighed heavily, with semiconductor test equipment maker Advantest down 5.54 percent to 19,960 yen ($130) and SoftBank Group tumbling 6.87 percent to 1,600 yen.
China’s Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.25 percent to 3,997 after export and import data disappointed, reinforcing concerns over sluggish domestic demand.
Taiwan’s TAIEX fell 0.89 percent to 27,651.41, pressured by global tech weakness, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 1.02 percent at 26,214 as of 4:15 p.m., with Xiaomi sliding 3 percent to HK$42.1 ($5.4) amid a broad selloff in Chinese technology stocks.
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