Asian stock markets tumbled sharply on July 28, 2026, dragged down by heavy selling in technology and semiconductor shares.
Fears mounted over massive artificial intelligence spending and rising industry competition from China.
>>> Ottawa Faces Week of High Humidity and Thunderstorm Risks
South Korea's benchmark Kospi index experienced its worst drop since mid-April.
It plunged nearly 11 percent to close at 6,023.66 after brief trading halts were triggered during the session.
The steep decline in Seoul was spearheaded by major memory chipmakers. Samsung Electronics fell over 13 percent, and SK Hynix plunged more than 14 percent.
Market anxiety intensified following reports that China has begun mass production of homegrown deep ultraviolet chipmaking equipment.
Additionally, Chinese memory maker CXMT debuted on the Shanghai exchange after raising $8.6 billion.
Market participants also raised concerns over circular funding structures in the artificial intelligence sector.
Reports emerged that Nvidia was discussing a $250 billion financial backstop to support an OpenAI data center project in Ohio.
Analyst Reactions and Market Outlook
Morningstar equity analyst Jing Jie Yu commented on the sudden market disruption following technical advancements reported out of China.
>>> Oil Falls to One-Week Low as Canadian Dollar Weakens on Iran Talks
"We believe the market was likely spooked by the progress of China's chipmaking equipment capabilities, and was worried that this progress would threaten the competitive position of global chipmaking and chip equipment leaders," said Yu.
Despite the sharp pullback across regional equity markets, Morningstar maintained that the fundamental strengths of established global technology firms remain largely intact.
