Most Asian stocks sank on Thursday as tech firms came under renewed pressure from worries over the AI boom, with Seoul again taking the brunt of the selling, while oil prices rose further as the US and Iran continued to trade strikes.Regional investors were unable to build on a second day of gains on Wall Street, where more data showing inflation easing pushed back bets on a Federal Reserve interest rate hike to later in the year.
Seoul's Kospi dived more than 7 percent as chip titans SK hynix and Samsung each gave up around 10 percent amid growing anxiety that the AI rally -- which had pushed both firms to record highs this year -- has run its course.
Traders are questioning whether the vast sums pumped into the AI sector in recent years can vindicate the eye-watering valuations for some firms.
That comes after Dutch giant ASML, which makes cutting-edge machines to manufacture chips, reported a rise in second-quarter net profit and hiked its sales forecast for the full year.
Eyes are now on earnings from Taiwanese titan TSMC due later in the day.
