Market Overview
Asian equities tumbled on Tuesday, with South Korea's benchmark KOSPI plunging over 9% to its lowest level since mid‑April, triggering sidecar and circuit‑breaker mechanisms. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell as much as 4%, its weakest since May 22, while the broader TOPIX slipped 3%. Regional sentiment weakened further as Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 0.7% and S&P 500 futures slipped 0.2%; Wall Street closed mixed after erasing most of its prior gains.
AI Funding Concerns
Investors grew increasingly uneasy after reports that NVIDIA Corporation’s latest AI‑related financing commitments exceeded $750 billion, raising worries about rising leverage and whether demand for AI infrastructure can keep pace with such unprecedented investment.
Impact on Chipmakers
South Korean memory leaders bore the brunt: SK Hynix Inc tumbled up to 13% and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd fell up to 10%. In Japan, Kioxia Holdings Corp dropped as much as 18%, while Tokyo Electron Ltd, Disco Corp, Nikon Corp and Murata Manufacturing Co each slid more than 9%.
Chinese and Hong Kong Tech Resilience
Chinese and Hong Kong technology shares proved more resilient. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.3%, and mainland indices showed mixed moves: Shanghai Composite fell 0.6% and the CSI 300 slipped 1.2%. JD.com (HK:9618) rose nearly 3%, Meituan (HK:3690) gained about 1.6%, and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (HK:9988) added roughly 1.4%.
Domestic Semiconductor Momentum
Optimism for China’s semiconductor self‑sufficiency was reinforced by CXMT Corp’s blockbuster Shanghai debut, which could expand its roughly 10% market‑share capacity. Reports that a Chinese state‑backed firm began mass‑producing immersion deep‑ultraviolet lithography machines further boosted confidence that local manufacturers might narrow the technology gap with overseas rivals.
Other Regional Markets
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged down 0.3%, Singapore’s Straits Times Index fell 0.5%, while India’s Nifty 50 futures were little changed.
Oil and Inflation Context
Crude prices continued their recent decline after U.S. President Donald Trump indicated a "good chance" of reaching a deal with Iran, easing inflation concerns ahead of the Federal Reserve’s upcoming meeting, though the price drop did little to offset the technology‑led sell‑off across Asian equities.
Forward‑Looking Catalysts
Markets now look to a packed week of catalysts, including policy decisions from the Federal Reserve, the Bank of Japan and the Bank of England, as well as quarterly earnings from major U.S. tech giants such as Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Apple and Amazon.
> "The global DRAM market has long been dominated by Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron, with CXMT accounting for only about 10% of capacity. But fresh capital from its listing could allow it to capture a larger share of the market," said Charlie Pullan, Global Markets Analyst at Finimize.