Kospi plunges almost 2%, dragged by tech sell-off, as Asia-Pacific markets mostly fall
Lisa Su, president and chief executive officer of Advanced Micro Devices Inc., showcases the AMD Instinct MI455X GPU at the 2026 CES event in Las Vegas on January 5, 2026.
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South Korean markets led declines in the Asia-Pacific on Thursday, tracking Wall Street’s losses as the tech sell-off gained momentum.
of Seoul kospi The index led losses in Asia, falling 3.86% to 5,163.57, while chip heavyweights Samsung and SK Hynix fell 5.8% and 6.44% respectively.
Other top losers included defense giant Hanwha Aerospace, down 7.33%. The small-cap Kosdaq fell 3.57% to 1,108.41.
of japan Nikkei 225 It closed at 53,818.04 with a decrease of 0.88% and retreated from the record level. investment firm SoftBank Group Company Chip designer Arm’s fiscal third-quarter license sales fell more than 7% after it missed estimates.
But Japanese electronics manufacturer Panasonic rose 8.41% even as the company reported worse revenue and net profit figures For its fiscal third quarter ending in December.
However, adjusted operating profit rose 5.59% year-on-year to 159.1 billion yen ($1.03 billion). Adjusted operating profit excludes restructuring costs of 129.3 billion yen.
The broad-based Topix reversed gains after previously being the only index in positive territory, falling to 3,652.41 and also reaching a record high.
of hong kong Hang Seng index It fell 0.22% and the China CSI 300 index fell 0.56%. Both indexes were dragged by basic materials stocks.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index closed at 8,889.2 points, losing 0.43 percent.
Overnight in the USA, the S&P 500 lost value by 0.51% with consecutive losses, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.53% and the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.51%.
Especially, Advanced Micro Devices It fell 17 percent after first-quarter forecasts surprised some analysts. Broadcom and Micron Technology also suffered major losses, falling about 3.8%, while Micron Technology also fell 9.5%.
Bitcoin hovered just above the $73,000 level, down more than 3 percent after previously falling below that level.
—CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Pia Singh contributed to this report.
