Asian equities fell Friday as doubts about the cost and returns of artificial-intelligence investment spread from U.S. technology shares to regional markets and weighed on chip stocks.
The MSCI Asia-Pacific index excluding Japan dropped 0.3% Friday, leaving it down 2.7% for the week and extending its run of weekly declines to four, Reuters reported. Japan’s Nikkei lost 1.3%, South Korea’s KOSPI fell 1.7% and a mainland China blue-chip index was off 1.1%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged up 0.1% after sliding 3% Thursday.
A technology-led selloff in the United States set the backdrop. Nasdaq’s official index history shows the Nasdaq-100 fell 2.90% to 28,958.69 on Thursday. The Nasdaq Composite shed 2.6%, and the S&P 500 lost 1.2%; the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 11.89 points, or 0.02%, to 52,867.98, the Associated Press reported.
Treasuries and the yen drew demand as investors reduced risk exposure, Reuters and Bloomberg reported. Reuters linked the pullback to questions about the funding required for artificial-intelligence and data-center projects, and whether their economic payoff will justify that spending.
SK hynix said on Oct. 23 that Solidigm had set aside its assessment of two possible public-market paths: a pre-IPO step and a full IPO. The company cited financial-market volatility and share-price trends, while saying the unit still needs additional production capacity to meet rising demand for AI-related memory. SK hynix shares fell 2.5% Friday, Reuters reported.
In Taiwan, Typhoon Champi prompted closures for Taipei city offices and schools, according to the Taipei City Government. Taiwan Futures Exchange separately announced that its market and over-the-counter derivatives clearing would close for the day.
Next week’s catalysts include results from Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet, which Bloomberg said investors will assess alongside the Federal Reserve’s policy decision. The Fed’s calendar lists the Federal Open Market Committee meeting for Oct. 27-28.
