Why it matters
- South Korea's Kospi fell 348.89 points, or 5.46%, to 6,035.35 on Tuesday, as SK hynix lost about 10% and Samsung Electronics more than 7%, according to Trading Economics and Yahoo Finance data.
- Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped 1.82% to 67,777.52 in its first session since Friday, led by chip-related stocks such as Kioxia, SoftBank Group and Tokyo Electron, Trading Economics said.
- Hong Kong's Hang Seng recovered from morning losses to close up 0.30%, and India's Sensex gained 1.54% as IT stocks rallied on earnings.
Session recap: what happened in this region's trading day, with sources.
Asian stock markets fell hard on Tuesday, Oct. 13, as a sell-off in chip and AI-related shares spread from Wall Street to Seoul and Tokyo. South Korea's Kospi plunged 5.46% to 6,035.35, and Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 1.82% to 67,777.52, according to Yahoo Finance data. India and Hong Kong bucked the trend.
| Market | Tuesday close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Kospi (South Korea) | 6,035.35 | −5.46% |
| Nikkei 225 (Japan) | 67,777.52 | −1.82% |
| Taiex (Taiwan) | 48,341.31 | −1.95% |
| Hang Seng (Hong Kong) | 24,345.22 | +0.30% |
| Hang Seng China Enterprises | 8,174.72 | +0.08% |
| Shanghai Composite (China) | 3,800.86 | +0.10% |
| Shenzhen Component (China) | 12,353.70 | −0.25% |
| CSI 300 (China) | 4,275.68 | −0.29% |
| S&P/ASX 200 (Australia) | 8,783.90 | +0.01% |
| Straits Times Index (Singapore) | 5,430.50 | +0.28% |
| Sensex (India) | 73,033.78 | +1.54% |
| Nifty 50 (India) | 22,721.95 | +1.60% |
Source: Yahoo Finance chart data. Changes are from Monday's close, or Friday's for Japan, which was closed Monday.
Why did the Kospi fall so much today?
Chip stocks drove the drop. Trading Economics said mounting worries about AI valuations and Chinese competition set off heavy selling in semiconductor shares, after reports of technological progress by Chinese memory maker CXMT. The Kospi hit an intraday low of 5,911, its lowest in more than two months, Trading Economics said. Foreign investors sold a net 4.51 trillion won of shares.
SK hynix fell about 10.1% to 1,443,000 won and Samsung Electronics more than 7% to 232,000 won, according to Trading Economics and Yahoo Finance data. SK Square dropped 13.0%, Trading Economics said. It was the Kospi's second straight steep loss after a 3.65% drop on Monday, covered in our Asia Monday recap.
Japan: Nikkei falls for a fourth session
Tokyo reopened after Monday's Sports Day holiday and fell for a fourth straight session, Trading Economics said. It tied the drop to an overnight tech-led sell-off on Wall Street, to competition from CXMT, and to warnings about AI valuations from Broadcom chief executive Hock Tan and investor Ray Dalio. Kioxia Holdings sank 13.3%, SoftBank Group 8.5% and Tokyo Electron 7.2%, Yahoo Finance data showed. The yen firmed to about 158.14 per dollar around 12:55 GMT, from about 158.58 late Monday.
China and Hong Kong
The Hang Seng rose 74.02 points to 24,345.22 after tumbling in the morning, Trading Economics said. Xiaomi and AIA each gained 2.0% and Geely 3.1%. Tencent drew more than $15.5 billion of orders for a planned dollar bond sale of at least $4.5 billion, according to Trading Economics.
The Shanghai Composite edged up 0.10% after paring earlier losses, while the Shenzhen Component slipped 0.25% to a one-year low, Trading Economics said.
Elsewhere in the region
Australia's ASX 200 ended flat. Trading Economics said the big four banks rose 1.3% to 2.3%, while BHP fell 1.8% and Qantas 2.9%. Data showed business confidence fell to a four-month low in September, and minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia's September meeting signaled further rate hikes remain possible, Trading Economics said.
India's Sensex rose 1.54%, helped by IT stocks and lower oil prices. HCLTech jumped 8.3% on better-than-expected earnings and Tata Consultancy Services rose 6.6%, Trading Economics said. It also reported that India's retail inflation rose to 5.54% in September.
What comes next?
European shares are mixed so far; see our Europe Tuesday recap. Big-bank earnings and the U.S. open are covered in our day-ahead guide, and live levels are on the markets page.
Follow the rest of the trading day on our global market today page, with the latest Asia, Europe and Americas session recaps.
Sources
- Trading Economics, South Korea stock market (Kospi)
- Trading Economics, Japan stock market (Nikkei 225)
- Trading Economics, Hong Kong stock market (Hang Seng)
- Trading Economics, China stock market (Shanghai Composite)
- Trading Economics, Australia stock market (ASX 200)
- Trading Economics, India stock market (Sensex)
- Yahoo Finance, chart data for the Kospi, Nikkei 225, Taiex, Hang Seng, Hang Seng China Enterprises, Shanghai Composite, Shenzhen Component, CSI 300, S&P/ASX 200, Straits Times Index, Sensex, Nifty 50 and USD/JPY
- Yahoo Finance, stock chart data for SK hynix, Samsung Electronics, Kioxia Holdings, SoftBank Group, Tokyo Electron and BHP