Asia stocks curb some losses as AI rout eases; China rebounds amid bear market
Investing.com– Most Asian stocks reversed early losses on Friday as a rout in technology and artificial intelligence valuations halted, while Chinese markets rebounded after slumping into a bear market this week.
Japanese stocks remained in negative territory, spooked by a strong inflation reading for September, which furthered the case for more interest rate hikes by the Bank of Japan.
Asian shares tracked an overnight slide on Wall Street, where the Nasdaq clocked its worst day since June on mounting concerns over stretched AI funding. A swathe of underwhelming tech earnings added to concerns over AI.
Wall Street futures were muted in Asian trade. A surge in oil prices– to five-month highs– also weighed on risk appetite, as tensions in the Middle East persisted.
S.Korea rises from 3-mth low; SK Hynix scraps Solidigm IPO plans
South Korea reversed early losses on Friday, with the KOSPI index rising 0.2% after falling as much as 3% to a three-month low. The index was also set to lose over 4% this week.
SK Hynix Inc (KS:000660) was a major driver of the KOSPI’s recovery, surging 4% after initially tumbling more than 3% after the memory chip maker said it had scrapped plans for a potential U.S. IPO of its flash memory unit Solidigm.
Separately, Bloomberg reported SK Hyper, which is a sister company under SK Group, was in talks with major tech investors over funding for a $350 billion AI infrastructure buildout.
Still, SK Hynix was nursing a 34% decline over the past month, amid a rapid deflation in AI valuations.
Rival Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (KS:005930) also reversed early losses and traded flat on Friday.
Chinese stocks rebound after confirming bear market
China’s Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indexes rebounded from 15-month lows on Friday to add 1.8% and 0.9%, respectively.
The rebound initially started with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, which jumped 1.2% after opening in the red.
The CSI300 officially entered a bear market on Thursday, confirming an over 20% drop from its June peak.
The drop was fueled chiefly by AI and tech, as a strong buildup in valuations earlier this year gave way to deep losses.
Despite Friday’s rebound, mainland China indexes were headed for an eleventh straight week of losses.
Chinese exporters were pressured by increasing strength in the yuan, which hit a four-year high earlier in October. A swathe of middling economic prints also raised concerns over rapidly cooling Chinese growth, which has dithered in recent years despite continued support from Beijing.
Japan falls as CPI crosses BOJ target
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.25%, trading above a near three-month low hit earlier in the day, while the TOPIX fell 0.9%, also rising from intraday lows.
Japanese markets were hurt chiefly by a wipeout in tech and AI valuations this week.
Adding to pressure on local markets, consumer price index inflation data released on Friday showed core prices rising above the BOJ’s 2% annual target for the first time since December 2025.
The print ramped up bets that the BOJ will have to raise interest rates further to quash increasingly sticky inflation. The central bank is set to meet next week and is expected to at the very least hike its annual inflation outlook.
Additionally, Reuters reported that Tokyo was considering ending major consumer fuel subsidies in December, which could also greatly ramp up inflation.
Broader Asian markets were flat on Friday. Singapore’s Straits Times index rose slightly and Australia’s ASX 200 was flat.
India’s Nifty 50 index was an outlier, sliding 1.1% by midday.
Original Article
Asia stocks curb some losses as AI rout eases; China rebounds amid bear market
U.S. stock futures little changed after Nasdaq posts worst day since June