The China Mail - Seoul leads steep Asian losses as AI-led tech rally hits wall

News that Iran and Israel had struck each other sparked worries about an escalation of the Middle East crisis, adding to the gloomy mood on trading floors and sending oil prices surging more than three percent.

The technology sector bore the brunt of losses Monday as investors cashed out following a breathtaking surge in recent months powered by a race into all things linked to artificial intelligence.

The selling came after a closely watched report Friday showed more than double the amount of US jobs than expected were created in May, while those in the previous two months were revised higher.

Analysts said that showed the world's top economy remained resilient in the face of surging prices, but ramped up bets on the Fed raising interest rates.

Yields on US Treasury bonds rose as investors anticipated higher rates, while the dollar strengthened against its main rivals.

All three main indexes on Wall Street tumbled Friday, led by a four percent drop in the Nasdaq.

That heavy selling extended into Asia, where tech-rich markets felt the most pain.

Seoul -- which has hit multiple record highs this year -- tanked as much as 8.8 percent at one point as chipmaker Samsung shed nine percent and rival SK hynix lost six percent.

Taipei sank more than five percent and Tokyo more than four percent.

There were also hefty losses in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore.

Bitcoin was hovering around $63,000 after sinking below $60,000 Friday to its lowest level since October 2024, just before Donald Trump's election, which propelled it to a record high.

"Stronger-than-expected labour market data reignited concerns that the Federal Reserve may be preparing to embark on a new tightening cycle," said SPI Asset Management's Stephen Innes.

He added that "fading hopes for progress in Middle East peace negotiations kept energy markets on edge, and a handful of disappointing guidance updates from major technology companies interrupted what had become an increasingly one-way artificial intelligence trade".

Investors were already concerned about extended valuations in the AI realm, which has been the main catalyst for a global market surge in the past two years, eclipsing worries about the Middle East crisis.

US chipmaker Broadcom's below-forecast revenue outlook for the third quarter added to those concerns.

Fears about a re-escalation of the Iran war pushed crude prices sharply higher after Israeli said Monday it had struck targets in western and central Iran, as Iranian state TV reported explosions in the cities of Tehran, Tabriz and Isfahan.

The attacks came a day after Israel said its military intercepted incoming Iranian missiles, the first such barrage since an April ceasefire took hold.

Tehran called the attack a "warning" after strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs.

- Key figures at around 0200 GMT -

West Texas Intermediate: UP 3.3 percent at $93.52 a barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 3.4 percent at $96.24 a barrel

Seoul - Kospi: DOWN 6.6 percent at 7,619.27

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 4.1 percent at 63,886.04

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.5 percent at 24,591.60

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.0 percent at 3,987.33

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1516 from $1.1520 on Friday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3329 from $1.3333

Dollar/yen: UP at 160.32 yen from 160.23 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 86.42 pence from 86.41 pence

New York - DOW: DOWN 1.4 percent at 50,866.78 (close)

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 10,368.05 (close)

C.Smith--ThChM