Asian Stocks Fall on Tech Weakness, Samsung Slides: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) — Asian equities dropped as technology shares came under renewed selling pressure, with Samsung Electronics Co. falling after its earnings report.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slipped 0.6% with decliners slightly outnumbering gainers. Technology stocks led losses, with Samsung falling more than 6% even after quarterly profit surged 19-fold. That weighed on the Kospi index, which retreated 4.3%. The chip sector remained in focus with SK Hynix Inc. shares dropping 4.2% after kicking off the formal marketing process for its US listing.

US equity-index futures also edged lower in early Asian trading. Contracts for the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index declined 0.4%, indicating Monday’s rebound on Wall Street may be brief.

Elsewhere, Brent crude rose 0.4% to about $72.25 a barrel after reports that a tanker was struck in the Strait of Hormuz underscored the risks to shipping through the vital waterway.

Recent swings in tech stocks have left investors searching for fresh evidence that the AI boom can sustain its momentum. Even after US semiconductor shares posted a record quarter, attention has turned to whether soaring capital spending, rising competition and expanding capacity will deliver the earnings growth needed to justify lofty expectations.

“Are we in an AI bubble? We think the answer depends on whether AI can turn today’s scarcity into tomorrow’s abundance,” according to BlackRock Investment Institute’s team led by Jean Boivin. “Markets are increasingly pricing that outcome, expecting AI to lift productivity and growth enough to sustain today’s extraordinary earnings.”

In other corners of the market, the yen was a touch weaker around 162.15 per dollar as positioning data showed hedge funds turned the most negative on the Japanese currency since 2007.

Treasuries were little changed after gaining Monday following less hawkish wagers for the Federal Reserve. Japan bond futures rose ahead of a 30-year auction, which will be a test of investor appetite.

In Asia, early attention was on Samsung’s earnings. The company’s quarterly profit soared past elevated expectations due to rocketing demand for memory chips needed in AI data centers.

The world’s largest memory maker reported preliminary operating income of 89.4 trillion won ($58 billion) in the three months through June, dwarfing its performance for all of 2025. Analysts on average had projected 84.2 trillion won.

The stock’s decline indicates “investors might have already priced in solid results and are increasingly focused on the longer-term trajectory of the memory cycle,” said Albert Yong, managing partner at hedge fund Petra Capital Management.

Corporate News:

Rivian Automotive Inc. is offering to sell 75 million shares as the electric vehicle company seeks to fund equity contributions related to a US Department of Energy loan. Vale SA Chairman Daniel Stieler is stepping down after one of the company’s largest investors agitated to reshape the leadership of the world’s top iron ore producer. Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox plans to eliminate 3,200 jobs, or around 20% of its staff over the next year. Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

S&P 500 futures were little changed as of 9:48 a.m. Tokyo time Hang Seng futures rose 0.1% Nikkei 225 futures (OSE) fell 0.8% Japan’s Topix rose 0.4% Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.4% Euro Stoxx 50 futures were little changed Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro was little changed at $1.1440 The Japanese yen was little changed at 162.15 per dollar The offshore yuan was little changed at 6.7949 per dollar Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin rose 0.5% to $64,085.95 Ether rose 0.5% to $1,801.06 Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.48% Japan’s 10-year yield was unchanged at 2.830% Australia’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to 4.80% Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.4% to $68.81 a barrel Spot gold fell 0.4% to $4,149.78 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

–With assistance from Rob Verdonck and Sangmi Cha.

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