Kioxia Holdings plunged as much as 16% intraday on Friday as investors unwound
leverage in AI-related tech names, dragging the Nikkei 225 down more than 6% to
a one-month intraday low. Taiwan’s TAIEX fell about 6.5%. South Korea was closed
for a holiday; Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore markets also declined. Kioxia,
a key beneficiary of this year’s AI-led rally, hit intraday limit down; its
market value fell to roughly ¥28 trillion from a peak near ¥60 trillion (about
$370 billion), and the stock is about 50% below its June 22 intraday high. JP
Morgan’s quantitative strategies team said recent market sentiment has swung
toward excess pessimism — narratives that the AI boom is ending or an AI bubble
is bursting — and added: “Although supply-demand adjustment in AI names may be
nearing completion, AI stocks driven by sentiment and flows may still need more
time to bottom as these pessimistic narratives fully unwind.”
