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Regional equity markets retreated Thursday, with South Korea’s primary stock index experiencing a sharp decline driven by weakness in the technology sector. The Kospi fell 4.5% to close at 6,306.40, reflecting broad selloffs among semiconductor manufacturers and companies tied to the artificial intelligence investment boom.
Memory chipmaker SK Hynix led the losses with a 9.7% drop, while Samsung Electronics declined 6.1% as investors reassessed positions in the AI-linked sector. Traders attributed the pullback partly to profit-taking and risk management strategies ahead of Friday’s U.S. employment report, according to analysts at SPI Asset Management.
Other regional benchmarks posted modest declines. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.2% to 65,538.44, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 1.8% to 25,463.51, and Shanghai’s composite index remained nearly flat at 3,878.92. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was the exception, gaining 0.5%.
Oil markets remained relatively stable despite geopolitical concerns surrounding U.S. tensions with Iran and uncertainty regarding reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude declined 0.3% to $79.24 per barrel, while U.S. benchmark crude fell 0.4% to $74.93 per barrel.
Wall Street reflected mixed signals, with the S&P 500 slipping 0.2% to 7,723.55 and the Nasdaq composite declining 0.8% to 26,363.44. The Dow industrials bucked the trend with a 0.5% gain to 54,349.12. Major technology firms including Alphabet and Microsoft lost ground, falling 4% and 1.1% respectively.
Corporate earnings momentum provided underlying support for equities, with three-quarters of S&P 500 companies having reported results. Wall Street forecasts profit growth of 50% once all reporting concludes, though the sector faces headwinds from artificial intelligence spending dynamics.
Disney advanced 3.6% after surpassing profit expectations, buoyed by “Toy Story 5” box office receipts and theme park revenue. Booking Holdings jumped 6.6% on strong travel demand during the latest quarter. SpaceX shares fell 13.6% following disclosure of its first public quarterly report, which revealed elevated AI spending, though the company’s announcement of exclusive Nvidia chip usage boosted that semiconductor giant 3.4%.
Currency markets showed minimal movement, with the dollar trading at 157.73 yen compared to 157.77 yen, while the euro weakened to $1.1549 from $1.1555.
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