Japan and South Korea equities plunged as concerns about a major NVIDIA AI supply agreement and intensifying competition hit chip names. The Nikkei 225 fell up to 4% to its weakest since May 22, TOPIX slid as much as 2.7% and the KOSPI tumbled as much as 7.6%, its lowest since April 20. Semiconductor and equipment stocks led losses: Tokyo Electron, Kioxia, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix were down more than 9% at intraday lows; SK Hynix briefly plunged ~30%, its largest single-day drop on recor

Japan and South Korea equities plunged as concerns about a major NVIDIA AI supply agreement and intensifying competition hit chip names. The Nikkei 225 fell up to 4% to its weakest since May 22, TOPIX slid as much as 2.7% and the KOSPI tumbled as much as 7.6%, its lowest since April 20. Semiconductor and equipment stocks led losses: Tokyo Electron, Kioxia, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix were down more than 9% at intraday lows; SK Hynix briefly plunged ~30%, its largest single-day drop on record, and Kioxia fell ~18%, its biggest since November. A wave of AI-related deals worth over $750bn coincided with a spike in NVIDIA credit-default-swap costs, weighing on tech shares. Nomura Asset Management strategist Hideyuki Ishiguro said reports of a major NVIDIA investment transaction raised perceived credit risk and warned Chinese advances in semiconductor manufacturing equipment threaten Japan’s long-standing supplier advantage.