Asian markets suffered another severe tech rout on Friday as investors continued to cash out of the artificial intelligence rally that had driven some of the year’s most dramatic gains, with Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 losing more than 5% and Taiwan’s Taiex falling 6.5% despite chipmaker TSMC announcing record second-quarter profits and a fresh $100 billion investment in Arizona just one day earlier.
TSMC, the world’s largest contract chip manufacturer, fell 6.1% in Taipei on Friday after its record earnings failed to reassure investors about the long-term sustainability of AI spending. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index has now lost approximately 19% from its June peak according to Bloomberg. Japanese chipmaker Kioxia collapsed 16% on Friday, meaning it has lost more than half its value since becoming Japan’s largest company by market capitalisation last month. SoftBank and Advantest both fell around 9%.
Seoul’s Kospi, which more than doubled in the first six months of the year, has now lost roughly a third of its value from its June record. South Korean markets were closed Friday for a public holiday, leaving Tokyo and Taipei to absorb the brunt of Friday’s selling. Losses also spread to Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore and Sydney.
Analysts said the core concern was now whether AI spending would ever deliver the returns that had justified record valuations, with US-Iran tensions and continued oil price volatility adding a second layer of pressure on sentiment.
