Tech sell-off puts Asian markets under pressure
Investors fear high inflation and AI investment have pushed up profit expectations.
Follow-up to: Wall Street slides on higher rate fears and AI risk Wednesday, 14 October 2026, 22:28
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Asian shares fell sharply on Thursday, led by technology companies. South Korea’s Kospi lost almost 8 per cent, while Japanese and Taiwanese chipmakers also came under heavy pressure.
The Kospi index was 8 per cent lower at 5,527.12 points, according to Associated Press. That put the index well below the record level of more than 9,000 points reached in June during a strong rally in shares that benefited from global interest in artificial intelligence.
The fall hit major semiconductor companies in particular. Samsung Electronics lost 9.7 per cent, according to AP, while memory-chip maker SK Hynix fell 11.1 per cent. In Japan, the Nikkei index dropped 5 per cent. Tokyo Electron and Kioxia, also important players in the chip supply chain, fell sharply.
The new sell-off followed losses on the US stock market. Investors reacted to US inflation figures that came in higher than expected. This increased fears that interest-rate cuts would take longer to arrive, making expensive growth shares particularly vulnerable.
There is also growing doubt over whether the huge investments in AI infrastructure will generate profits quickly enough. South Korean analysts told the Asia Business Daily that higher financing costs and uncertainty over the sustainability of demand for memory chips were contributing factors.
The share-price falls in themselves say nothing yet about the companies’ underlying production or revenue. They do, however, show how heavily the valuations of chip and AI shares have come to depend on expectations of future growth. Forthcoming quarterly results from major technology companies could prompt investors to revise those expectations again.
For Dutch companies, the international chip supply chain is particularly relevant. ASML, chipmakers and suppliers are not automatically affected by a stock-market fall, but their share prices and investment plans may respond to changing expectations about demand for AI machines and memory chips.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The market levels, share-price falls and market conditions were confirmed by two public sources. The text distinguishes between established share-price movements and uncertainty over future AI profits.
- confirmed The Kospi fell by almost 8 per cent and stood at 5,527.12 points. — Associated Press reports this level and fall. source
- confirmed Samsung Electronics fell 9.7 per cent and SK Hynix 11.1 per cent. — These percentages appear in AP’s overview of Asian trading. source
- confirmed Higher US inflation and doubts over AI investment contributed to the sell-off. — AP and Asia Business Daily both cite these factors as market conditions. source
Editor's note
The price movements and percentages mentioned have been confirmed by AP. The influence of AI profit expectations is a market explanation described by sources, not a definitive judgement about future corporate profits.Sources
The story so far
- Wednesday, 14 October 2026, 20:58 US inflation rises to 3.7 per cent
- Wednesday, 14 October 2026, 22:28 Wall Street slides on higher rate fears and AI risk
- Thursday, 15 October 2026, 06:58 Tech sell-off puts Asian markets under pressure (this article)
More on this in Dutch media
- De Telegraaf — „beurzen technologie”
- Trouw — „beurzen technologie”
- RTL Nieuws — „beurzen technologie”