(Seoul=Yonhap Infomax) Ji Yeon Kim – Japanese investment giant SoftBank Group Corp. (TSE:9984) tumbled more than 10% during intraday trading, mirroring the overnight sell-off in US tech stocks and sparking broad-based weakness across Asian technology shares.


On November 21, SoftBank Group Corp. (TSE:9984) fell over 10% at one point on the Tokyo Stock Exchange before paring losses to trade down 8.63% at 17,525 yen as of 10:31 AM local time.


Semiconductor component maker TDK Corp. (TSE:6762) dropped more than 1%, while chip manufacturer SCREEN Holdings Co., Ltd. (TSE:7735) slid over 4%.


In Taiwan, shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC, TPE:2330), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, declined more than 3%, underscoring the region-wide tech sector downturn.


The sell-off in Asian tech stocks followed renewed concerns over an “artificial intelligence (AI) bubble” that resurfaced on Wall Street overnight. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index closed down 2.15%.


Although blockbuster earnings from Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) had briefly eased bubble fears, a surge in Nvidia’s accounts receivable triggered a wave of profit-taking in tech shares.


Investor sentiment was further dampened after Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook warned that asset prices remain historically elevated, increasing the risk of a sharp correction.


Stronger-than-expected US nonfarm payrolls for September also reduced the likelihood of a Fed rate cut in December, weighing further on equities.


According to CME FedWatch, market participants now see a 39.1% probability of a December rate cut, down sharply from 50.1% a week earlier. The probability of rates remaining unchanged has risen to 60.9%, up from 49.9% a week ago.


jykim@yna.co.kr


(End)

All content has been translated by AI.
Copyright © Yonhap Infomax Unauthorized reproduction and redistribution prohibited.