Asian stocks slump on tech rout
A tech stock sell-off saw Asian markets tumble, with Wall Street set to follow. South Korea’s benchmark index triggered an automatic suspension of trading before closing down 5.8%, while markets in Hong Kong, Japan, and Taiwan also slumped.
It has been a volatile week for tech stocks: Shares in memory makers SK Hynix and Micron have swung wildly, while Apple stocks slid 6.1% after major increases in input costs forced the company to raise prices.
Investors are concerned about “inflation, rate hikes, and global volatility,” an analyst told the Financial Times, as well as concern that consumer tech companies are being hurt by the intense competition for memory, processors, and storage from the AI buildout.