Asian Tech Stocks Tumble as Kospi Sinks 8% on OpenAI IPO Delay, Apple Chip Shock
Updated
Updated · Business Insider · Jun 26
Asian Tech Stocks Tumble as Kospi Sinks 8% on OpenAI IPO Delay, Apple Chip Shock
3 articles · Updated · Business Insider · Jun 26
Summary
South Korea's Kospi fell more than 8% by midday Friday and Japan's Nikkei 225 lost about 5%, extending a regional tech rout that hit AI-linked chip stocks hardest.
SoftBank slumped 14% after a report said OpenAI could delay its IPO until next year, while Samsung and SK Hynix each dropped around 9% as investors reassessed the AI chip rally.
Apple's price increases across Macs and iPads — blamed on an unprecedented memory-chip shortage tied to AI data-center demand — sharpened fears that higher costs will curb consumer demand and squeeze margins.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell more than 2%, with Alibaba down another 5% after Anthropic accused it of exploiting advanced AI models.
Friday's slide capped a volatile week: Micron earnings had briefly lifted sentiment on Thursday, but South Korea and Japan's AI-driven markets were already vulnerable after sharp swings in semiconductor shares.