A more than 8 per cent slump in South Korea’s Kospi index, which is at the centre of the AI trade in Asia, further unsettles investors
Stocksin Hong Kong and on mainland China tumbled on Friday, as a fresh bout of sell-offs in technology companies put the city’s equity benchmark on track for its worst weekly performance in more than a year.
The Hang Seng Index fell 2.3 per cent to 22,538.65 as of 11.38am local time, heading for a 5.8 per cent loss this week. If the rate of decline holds until the close, it will be the biggest drop for the five-day period since April 11, 2025.
The Hang Seng Tech Index dropped almost 4 per cent.
On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index slid 2.8 per cent, the Star Market 50 index sank 2.6 per cent and the ChiNext 50 gauge lost 4.2 per cent.
A more than 8 per cent slump in South Korea’s Kospi index, which is at the centre of the frantic AI trade in Asia, further unsettled investors who were wary of frothy valuations and leveraged positions on tech stocks. The global AI trade has stumbled over the past week after rebounding from an oil shock-driven low, as the Federal Reserve pivots to a hawkish stance and investors demand more evidence of AI monetisation that can justify the massive capital expenditure.
Alibaba Group Holding and Tencent Holdings slumped at least 2 per cent. AI model developer MiniMax Group tumbled 8.8 per cent, and peer Knowledge Atlas Technology plunged 6.7 per cent.