New Delhi : Asian stock markets fell sharply on Friday as the global selloff in technology stocks continued. South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI dropped more than 8%, triggering a circuit breaker that briefly stopped program trading. South Korea’s KOSPI fell 8.2%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 5%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 2.4%, China’s CSI300 Index fell 2.9%, and the Shanghai Composite lost more than 2%.
The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index, excluding Japan, fell 3.8%. It is now heading for its biggest weekly loss in more than a year after a strong rally earlier this quarter. The sharp fall followed heavy losses on Wall Street overnight. Apple lost nearly $250 billion in market value after announcing price increases for iPads and MacBooks. The company said it was raising prices because memory and storage chips had become more expensive.
The decline also wiped out the excitement created a day earlier by Micron Technology. The memory chip maker had reported better-than-expected earnings, boosting confidence in AI demand and sending its shares to a record high. Charu Chanana, Chief Investment Strategist at Saxo, told Reuters that Apple’s price increase shows that even large technology companies are beginning to feel the pressure of higher component costs.
China’s CSI Artificial Intelligence Index dropped 5%, while the CSI 5G Communication Index fell 6.3%. Zhongji Innolight, which supplies optical modules used in AI infrastructure, lost nearly 6%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Tech Index fell 3.3% on Friday and is heading for its worst weekly performance since October 2025. Analysts said another reason for the market decline was profit booking.
After one of the strongest rallies in recent years, many investors chose to sell stocks and lock in their gains before the end of the quarter. Despite Friday’s sharp fall, South Korea’s KOSPI is still up about 62% this quarter. Japan’s Nikkei has gained around 34%, while the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index remains more than 20% higher over the same period.
Oil prices also continued to fall. Brent crude dropped below $74 a barrel after Saudi Aramco restarted shipments from its Ras Tanura export terminal following months of disruption. However, lower oil prices did little to improve overall market sentiment. Investors were also closely watching Japan’s currency market.
The Japanese yen remained near a 40-year low against the U.S. dollar, increasing expectations that Japanese authorities may step in to support the currency. Market experts said Friday’s selloff does not mean the AI boom is over. Instead, it shows that investors are becoming concerned that technology stock prices have risen too much after months of strong gains.
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