Seoul and Taipei stocks tumble as AI spending worries hit chipmakers

The Korea Exchange suspended program selling for five minutes shortly after 10 a.m. when KOSPI 200 futures fell 5% or more, Yonhap and Edaily reported. SK hynix closed down 7.08% and Samsung Electronics fell 3.02%, Yonhap and SBS reported. In Taipei, TSMC lost 1.86%, according to Focus Taiwan and a Yahoo Taiwan market report.

Yonhap and Focus Taiwan linked the drop to renewed concerns that heavy AI investment may not deliver comparable returns, after Alphabet shares fell more than 12% overnight on quarterly revenue that missed market expectations.

Why it matters: Samsung, SK hynix and TSMC carry heavy weight in the two benchmarks, so shifts in sentiment about AI spending move the region's biggest tech markets. The sell-off came a day after Samsung reported record quarterly profit on AI memory demand.