TOKYO (AP) 鈥� South Korea鈥檚 Kospi stock index dropped more than 8% on Wednesday as doubts over massive investments in artificial intelligence once again led investors to dump shares.
The latest rout was led by a plunge in shares in chipmaker SK Hynix after its operating profit in the last quarter fell short of analysts鈥� forecasts even though it soared sixfold to a record 60.5 trillion won ($41.2 billion).
By midday in Seoul, the Kospi was down 8.2% at 5,531.56. The benchmark only recently had topped 9,000 before toppling back to its lowest level since early April.
SK Hynix sank 12.6% while shares in Samsung Electronics dropped 8%.
Other Asian markets also mostly declined.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 lost 1.8% to 61,038.63, giving up early gains.
Japanese stocks were mixed in their reaction to a day earlier. A previous earthquake in the region caused severe damage and disruptions for automakers and other manufacturers.
Shares in Nippon Paper, owner of a mill in the disaster zone that was severely damaged by Tuesday鈥檚 quake, fell 1%
Taiwan鈥檚 Taiex shed 3.6%.
The Shanghai Composite index fell 0.5% to 3,793.11.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng countered the regional trend, gaining 1.7% to 25,738.42 and in Australia the S&P/ASX 200 added 1% to 9,036.90.
Oil prices that from that they hit last week rebounded.
Brent crude, the international standard, jumped 4.2% to $87.58 a barrel.
Benchmark U.S. crude also gained 4.2%, to $82.58.
On Tuesday, shares were mixed on Wall Street.
The S&P 500 added 0.2% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1%.
The Nasdaq composite slipped 0.2%.
The majority of U.S. stocks rose after more companies delivered stronger profits for the spring than analysts expected. Coca-Cola climbed 5% after its revenue rose 7%.
Expectations for stellar earnings reports are weighing particularly heavily on stocks of chipmakers and other companies that have been huge winners from the boom in technology.
Micron Technology鈥檚 stock came into the day having more than tripled for the year following gangbuster growth, but its shares sank 8.9%.
Others also helping to keep the market in check were Advanced Micro Devices, down 8.1%, and Applied Materials, down 7.8%.
In currency trading in Asia, the U.S. dollar slipped 163.57 Japanese yen from 163.81 yen. The euro cost $1.1399, up from $1.1391.
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AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed.
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