Asian stocks slide as tech sell-off sends South Korea's KOSPI down 8%

Asian stocks fell sharply on Thursday, led by a sell-off in technology shares that sent South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI down as much as 8%.

Shares in smartphone maker Samsung Electronics and chipmaker SK Hynix, the two largest companies on the KOSPI by market capitalization, fell more than 9% at their session lows.

The KOSPI was heading towards its July trough and stood more than a third below its record high reached in June.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell more than 4% at one point, with technology stocks among the biggest losers. Taiwan’s stock market also declined.

The sell-off may have been fuelled by investor concerns that the US Federal Reserve could raise interest rates, as well as doubts about the outlook for artificial intelligence.

Hock Tan, chief executive of US semiconductor and software company Broadcom, warned of potential financing difficulties for the expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure at a conference in Singapore, media reports said.