South Korea's Kospi share index falls 6% and other Asian shares are
mixed as oil prices surge
[July 29, 2026] By
YURI KAGEYAMA
TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mixed while South Korea’s Kospi stock
index dropped 6% Wednesday as doubts over massive investments in
artificial intelligence once again led investors to dump chipmakers'
shares.
U.S. futures were little changed.
The latest rout in Seoul was led by a plunge in shares in chipmaker SK
Hynix after its operating profit in the last quarter fell short of
analysts’ forecasts even though it soared nearly sixfold.
The Kospi fell more than 8% earlier in the day, but closed 6% lower, at
5,663.24. The benchmark only recently had topped 9,000 before bouncing
back down to its lowest level since early April.
SK Hynix sank 9.4% while shares in Samsung Electronics dropped 4.8%.
Markets have been stricken by bouts of selling of AI-related stocks as
investors react to various developments including progress in China
toward cheaper, advanced AI models.
Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 lost 1.5% to 61,434.19, giving up
early gains. Shares in chipmaking equipment maker Tokyo Electron sank
10.6% and chip measuring and inspection systems maker Lasertec Corp.
fell 8.3%.
Japanese stocks were mixed in their reaction to a major earthquake that
rattled the southern Kyushu region a day earlier. A previous earthquake
in the region caused severe damage and disruptions for automakers and
other manufacturers.
Shares in Nippon Paper, owner of a mill in the disaster zone that was
severely damaged by Tuesday’s quake, fell 2.1%.
Taiwan’s Taiex shed 3.8%.
The Shanghai Composite index reversed early losses to pick up 0.4%. It
closed at 3,830.02.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 1.8% to 25,762.80.
In Australia the S&P/ASX 200 added 1% to 9,038.60 after the government
reported that inflation has remained moderate, relieving pressure on the
central bank to raise interest rates.
India's Sensex added 1.1%.
In other trading, oil prices that had eased from the two-month high that
they hit last week rebounded as a brief pause in fighting in the Iran
war was shattered. Jordan’s air defenses intercepted five missiles
launched from Iran early Wednesday, the country’s military said, hours
after the U.S. military said it had knocked down an Iranian missile
barrage launched against American forces in the Middle East.
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A person stands near an electronic board showing Japan's Nikkei
index at a securities firm Wednesday, July 29, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP
Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
 The calm persisted for about three
days following weeks of escalation over the strategic Strait of
Hormuz, the Persian Gulf waterway and narrow chokepoint through
which 20% of the world’s traded oil normally flows.
Brent crude, the international standard, jumped 3.1% to $84.58 a
barrel.
Benchmark U.S. crude gained 3.6% to $82.14 a barrel.
On Tuesday, shares were mixed on Wall Street.
The S&P 500 added 0.2% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped
1%.
The Nasdaq composite slipped 0.2%.
The majority of U.S. stocks rose after more companies delivered
stronger profits for the spring than analysts expected. Coca-Cola
climbed 5% after its revenue rose 7%.
Expectations for stellar earnings reports are weighing particularly
heavily on stocks of chipmakers and other companies that have been
huge winners from the boom in artificial-intelligence technology.
Micron Technology’s stock came into the day having more than tripled
for the year following gangbuster growth, but its shares sank 8.9%.
Other tech companies helping to keep the market in check were
Advanced Micro Devices, down 8.1%, and Applied Materials, down 7.8%.
In currency trading early Wednesday in Asia, the U.S. dollar slipped
to 163.53 Japanese yen from 163.81 yen. The euro cost $1.1396, up
from $1.1391.
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