Asian shares slip and South Korea’s Kospi index sinks 10% on heavy selling of chipmaking stocks

Asian shares slip and South Korea’s Kospi index sinks 10% on heavy selling of chipmaking stocks 1 of 5 | Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) 2 of 5 | A train arrives at a Wall Street subway station in New York’s Financial District on Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File) 3 of 5 | A dealer walks past near the screens showing the foreign exchange rates at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, July 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man) 4 of 5 | The screens show the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won and the Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ) at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, July 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man) 5 of 5 | Currency traders work at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) 1 of 5 | Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) 1 of 5 Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 2 of 5 | A train arrives at a Wall Street subway station in New York’s Financial District on Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File) 2 of 5 A train arrives at a Wall Street subway station in New York’s Financial District on Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 3 of 5 | A dealer walks past near the screens showing the foreign exchange rates at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, July 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man) 3 of 5 A dealer walks past near the screens showing the foreign exchange rates at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, July 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 4 of 5 | The screens show the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won and the Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ) at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, July 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man) 4 of 5 The screens show the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won and the Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ) at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, July 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 5 of 5 | Currency traders work at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) 5 of 5 Currency traders work at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share HONG KONG (AP) — South Korea’s Kospi index plunged more than 10% on Tuesday on heavy selling of chipmaking stocks that have gyrated recently due to concerns over the sustainability of the boom in artificial intelligence. Oil prices fell more than 1%, while U.S. futures were little changed. Trading was temporarily halted as Kospi dropped to its lowest level since April as shares in chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix dropped sharply. The Kospi was down 10.5% at 6,051.19 by midday. Samsung’s shares tumbled 12% while those for SK Hynix were down 12.7%.A big factor driving the selling of AI-related shares, analysts said, is the expectation that competition from Chinese AI startup s and chipmakers might undermine gains for global companies whose shares have skyrocketed due to the AI frenzy.A 466% jump in the price of Chinese chipmaker CXM T in its trading debut Monday has underscored such concerns. CXMT raised at least $8.6 billion in its initial public offering on Shanghai’s tech-oriented STAR exchange. Most other Asian markets also fell, with Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 down 4% at 62,350.18. The Taiex in Taiwan skidded 3.9%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged 0.1% lower, to 25,178.21, while the Shanghai Composite index lost 1% to 3,820.52. 3 MIN READ 2 MIN READ 2 MIN READ In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 balked the regional trend, gaining 0.6% to 8,944.40. Oil prices extended their declines as U.S. and Iran refrained from attacks for a third straight day.Officials in the Middle East said mediators had made progress in getting the two sides back to negotiations. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 0.8% to $85.16 a barrel.U.S. benchmark crude oil lost 0.9% to $81.86 a barrel. Stocks on Wall Street drifted to a mixed close Monday. The S&P 500 rose less than 0.1% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5%. The Nasdaq composite fell 0.2% for its fourth straight loss.